The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has honoured Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group, with a Special Appreciation Award for its outstanding contributions to the region as the company celebrates 35 years of leadership in the vacation ownership industry.

“We are very pleased to present this award to Interval for its ongoing commitment to the Caribbean hospitality industry,” said Josef Forstmayr, president of CHTA.

(Pictured above: Craig M. Nash, Chairman and CEO of Interval accepts award from Josef Forstmayr, president of CHTA)

“Through our Strategic Partnership with the company, we have gained a strong ally that has supported the development and expansion of vacation ownership in the region.  Interval and its participating member resorts have also greatly assisted in the education of our region’s future tourism leaders through their generous donations to the CHTA Education Foundation.”

Craig M. Nash, chairman, president and CEO of Interval Leisure Group, said: “It has been an honor to work with the association to educate its members and future industry professionals about the pivotal role that vacation ownership plays in the region’s hospitality sector. Interval particularly appreciates how important the Caribbean is to the success of vacation ownership since it holds enormous appeal to our members. We thank CHTA for this recognition and look forward to our continued collaboration.

“As a Strategic Partner of CHTA and a Board Member of the CHTA Education Foundation and the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Scholarship Foundation, Interval has been a long-time supporter of the tourism industry in the Caribbean. The company is committed to understanding the unique needs of the region and providing products and programs tailored to this market.”

The CHTAEF was established in 1987 as a non-profit organization to provide scholarships and special assistance to Caribbean hospitality industry personnel and students pursuing hospitality and tourism careers.

To date, the education foundation has awarded more than US$1.5 million dollars in scholarships and grants.

The application requirements include being a Caribbean national, having a high school or equivalent secondary school degree, pursuing a tourism-related education degree, and demonstrating financial need.

Interval International operates membership programmess for vacationers and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide.

Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market for 35 years. Today, Interval has an exchange network of approximately 2,600 resorts in over 75 nations.

Through offices in 14 countries, Interval offers high-quality products and benefits to resort clients and approximately 2 million families who are enrolled in various membership programs. Interval is an operating business of Interval Leisure Group, a leading global provider of membership and leisure services to the vacation industry.

The CHTA facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members’ needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner.

CHTA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region - and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions.

CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 725 member hotels and 525 allied members.