Message from CAST Chairman
Twenty-Five Years Ago Industry Visionaries Created CAST….
Challenge Issued Then Takes on Even Greater Urgency Today
At a time when sustainability was far from the minds of most of us, two members of CHTA’s Board of Directors recognized that a mindset shift was necessary for the Caribbean tourism industry to meet the pending environmental challenges facing the industry, and indeed the world. This prompted the late Sir Royston Hopkin, a pioneer hotelier in luxury tourism from Grenada, and Frank Rainieri, noted developer and brainchild behind Puntacana in the Dominican Republic, to create the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST).
Today, CAST sustains itself as an independent organization and member of the CHTA family of organizations dedicated to serving as a resource, advocate and focal point for Caribbean tourism sustainabile matters. CAST is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of CHTA member company representatives and specialists with expertise in sustainable tourism.
Since its inception, CAST, with support from CHTA, has sought to raise the industry’s readiness and awareness on sustainable matters. It’s landmark initiatives have included:
Training hundreds of companies on establishing Environmental Management Systems,
Supporting hurricane and crisis readiness training and policies throughout the region,
Conducting detailed energy efficiency audits for tourism-related businesses throughout the region,
Undertaking environmental impact related research to bolster awareness and stimulate local actions,
Recognizing and awarding best practices through CHTA’s Sustainability CHIEF Awards program, and;
Conducting dozens of training and awareness-building workshops on a range of sustainable matters,
Building partnerships with industry, organizations, institutions and governments to advance research, training and sharing of best practices
Helping to Shape a More Sustainable Future….
The CAST Trustees have already started to develop our action plan for 2023, which will also dovetail with activities it will undertake as part of its signatory commitment with CHTA to achieve tourism-related goals in line with last year’s Glasgow Agreement.
Some of our more notetable activaties this year include CHTA and CAST being recently represented at the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Summit in Puerto Rico on Sustainability and Investment, where CHTA President Nicola Madden Grieg participated on a panel which explored the future and sustainability of tourism in the changing global landscape. At the Summit, CHTA and CAST recognized CAST’s co-founders Frank Rainieri and Sir Royston, designating them as Directors Emeritus, further cementing their vision and leadership which was foundational to Caribbean tourism’s work on sustainability.
CHTA/CAST, with The Nature Conservancy, also released its Coral Reef Management Guide for the tourism industry at the WTTC summit. The project description and link to the guide are mentioned below.
CAST also organized a series of webinars on the sargassum threat, and has created a comprehensive list of resources and support information for the industry on sargassum which described and linked below.
We were also pleased to conduct a forum prior to Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Puerto Rico where we discussed the industry’s approach to reducing carbon emissions. Support information from the forum, including a presentation by Aruba’s hotelier Ewald Bieman’s, whose Bucuti and Tara property is the Caribbean’s first certified carbon-neutral hotel.
At the forum, CHTA and CAST also recognized the winners of the CHIEF Sustainability Award, which is described in this issue.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I encourage CHTA members and friends to draw upon the resources and information available to support your efforts to create a more sustainable industry.
CHTA CAST Online Resource Center: Information and Tools You Can Use
To learn more about CAST and to access the range of information, resources and tools which are available to CHTA members go to the Environmental and Knowledge Center sections of CHTA’s website.
What’s New Online:
World Travel and Tourism Council’s Hotel Sustainability Basics – Tools and information to guide your company thru a comprehensive operational approach towards becoming a sustainable business….contributing to a more efficient, cost-effective, responsible operation while demonstrating your commitment to sustainable practices to employees, customers and your broader community.
A Guide to Coral Reef Restoration for the Tourism Sector – Just completed by The Nature Conservancy and CHTA with support from the United Nations Environmental Program, this useful guide walks businesses, govenrments and communities through key steps and practices they can undertake to effectively manage, protect and renew coral reefs. The guide was developed with the input of the industry and the scientific community over the past 18 months.
CAST Welcomes Two New Trustees
CAST Chairman and Jamaican hotelier Kyle Mais has moved to broaden industry engagement in CAST and as part of its leadership team. He and fellow trustees are pleased to welcome two new members:
Kendra Hopkin, Deputy Managing Director of the Blue Horizons Garden Resort, and current President of the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association; and Kevan Dean, Executive Director of Engineering Services for Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas. Kevan also serves on the Atlantis Environmental and Sustainability Task Force and The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Service Function (ESF12) for tourism.
Members of the CAST Board of Trustees are:
Kyle Mais, Chairman, Jamaica
Karolin Troubetzkoy, St. Lucia
Denaye Hinds, Barbados/Bermuda
Christine Young, Trinidad and Tobago
Loreto Duffy Mayers, Barbados
Kendra Hopkin, Grenada
Kevan Dean, Bahamas
Ted Vogel, U.S.
George Newton, Barbados
The Trustees are support by CHTA representatives: Nicola Madden Greig, CHTA President; Vanessa Ledesma, CHTA CEO/DG (Actg); and Frank Comito, Special Advisor.
Recognizing Leadership and Excellence
CAST founders Frank Rainieri and the late Sir Royston Hopkin, pioneers and visionaries on environmental and sustainable matters over a more than 30 year span, were awarded the title of CAST Director Emeritus by CAST and CHTA during the WTTC Sustainable Investment Forum in Puerto Rico in June. Accepting the award on Sir Royston’s behalf at the CHTA forum in October, were Sir Royston’s daughter and Managing Director of Spice Island Resort and Spa, Janelle Hopkin, and his niece Kendra Hopkin, who is a CAST Trustee, Deputy Managing Director of the Blue Horizons Garden Resort, and current President of the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association.
At the October Caribbean Travel Marketplace Forum in Puerto Rico, the CHIEF (Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum) awards for Best Practices in Environmental Sustainability were announced. Half Moon in Jamaica garnered top honors. The renowned property initiated a farm-to-table project designed to pair self-sustainability with a gastronomy offering to enhance guests’ stays and retained 25 acres of wetland for a Hawksbill turtle habitat. Additionally, they stepped-up their aggressive cardboard, plastic, and graywater programs. First runner-up award went to Wagstaff Media and Marketing, on behalf of Baha Mar, which employed the Baha Mar Resort Foundation to focus on important issues like disaster recovery, environmental consciousness, youth development, cultural support, and community contribution. Blue Horizons Garden Resort was recognized with second runner-up honors for maintaining its core preservation and conservation programs with a much-reduced staff and managed water and energy usage with new targets.
CIMH Quarterly Climatic Bulletin – Supporting Your
Planning
Through a collaboration with the industry, led by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology with CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the industry is provided with a quarterly bulletin - Overview and Outlook for Key Caribbean Climatic Activities. This valuable planning tool provides scientific forecasts, geographically broken down into Caribbean sub-regions on the outlook for rainfall, drought, sargassum, hurricanes, health and vector illnesses to help guide strategic and operational decisions by companies and jurisdictions. Thank you to CAST Trustee Loreto Duffy Mayers for being the CHTA/CAST liaison with CIMH for the quarterly production of the bulletin.
Information and updates from CTO and its tourism development partners relevant to sustainable tourism product development that you will find informative. This newsletter features information and updates from CTO and its tourism development partners relevant to sustainable tourism product development.
Sargassum Resources You Can Use
While the management of sargassum remains a major challenge for the region and the tourism industry, there are tools you can use to anticipate its prevalence in your area and plan accordingly. It should also be noted that, much like hurricanes, we need to dispel the media’s and the traveling public’s misunderstanding that outbreaks are affecting every beach and every part of the Caribbean. Having information at your fingertips about the flow of sargassum at any given time equips you with intelligence to dispel or confirm facts. To access these monitoring tools, best practice information and a range of resources you can use and learn from, go to the CHTA/CAST Knowledge Center and scroll to the section on Sargassum Resources. The peak season for sargassum into the region is typically April to September, although outbreaks have occurred year-round. We also encourage you to monitor Near Real-Time Monitoring of Sargassum Intensity and Movement which shows most recent available satellite surveillance of sargassum plume through the Atlantic basin, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. This can help you plan mitigation and clean-up. Please log into the Members Only Portal found in CHTA's Publications to view the Sargassum Watch System (SaWS).
Partner and Like-Minded Sustainability Resources
Resources you can tap into to help support your sustainability efforts:
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