Berthia Parle, President of the Caribbean
Hotel Association (CHA) will deliver the closing keynote address at next month’s
Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Development (CMEx) to be held in Puerto Rico
for the first time from February 9-13, 2006.

Parle, a leading St. Lucia hotelier and the first woman to head the CHA, will
address the gathering of tourism industry officials and regional and international
media, who will examine the subject of “Sustainable Development: A Balancing Act”.

The CHA President said her address will highlight the dilemma governments face in
their efforts to develop the tourism industry. “It ‘s a dilemma currently
confronting the Government of St. Lucia as you hear the uproar over the lack of
beach facilities as a result of the fencing up of beach fronts to make way for major
tourist developments,” she said.

“This has always been a burning issue and I hope to stimulate some discussion on the
issue and allow the conference to come up with conclusions that can be documented,
circulated and eventually put out in the public domain,” Parle promised.

Parle noted the event was being hosted by Puerto Rico for the first time and the new
tourism administration in place was excited about hosting media and tourism
officials from the region and North America. “Puerto Rico is very keen on fostering
closer relations with the other Caribbean islands,” Parle said.

 

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