SXMElections.com

DAWN BEACH--The first St. Maarten person to be elected to Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's (CHTA's) highest post of President Emil Lee is approaching the halfway-mark of his two-year tenure, and says that he is happy to see the association moving in the right direction on a number of fronts.

In an interview with The Daily Herald he outlined both recent and on-going changes within the CHTA at varying stages of implementation, marking its move towards becoming more efficient and a transparent facilitator and thought leader, as well as his hopes for the future.

Lee first shared that what many people don't realise is that he had been elected for the post a year before starting in July 2014. The Association's structure calls for the incoming President to transition while a current President still holds the post. He had been First Vice President before, and will most likely become Chairman after the post is completed in mid-2016. As such, he will have an advisory role to the next President.

An advocate of embracing change, he says the CHTA took him on partially because of his "critical voice over the years."

His main areas of interest involved the association's organisational structure, communication, transparency and fiscal accountability.

As it pertains to organisational structure, CHTA is in the process of transforming from a top-down hierarchy to a Dandelion (or "multiple") hub and spoke model. This facilitates communication and lets the organisation function as more of a content curator and facilitator for the national organisations, and promotes the "cross-pollination of best and worst practices."

"CHTA doesn't have to generate all ideas by itself," he said. "This is a fundamental change."

Lee also advocates that the organisation focus on the "lowest common denominator" and focus on tackling issues with the broadest impact so that they are made relevant to all members.

He cited the air passenger duty, proposed by the United Kingdom as an example. This extra duty levied on plane tickets could easily be seen as something only relevant for islands with a traditionally strong incoming British market and/ or direct flights. However, it becomes more relevant to other members if viewed as another obstacle making travel to the region more expensive.

He said that although the changes are still in the early stages in terms of implementation, he hopes that by the time he leaves they are "solid and irreversible."

He also has a long-term vision of using more technology to the organisation's advantage, for example by integrating national websites in a way that members would benefit from lower costs in website maintenance and set-up, and updates would be shared easily. Consumers would also be able to navigate the various pages more easily.

Improved fiscal accountability is something that Lee continues to promote, although it was something that had become solid under the last President and current Chairman Richard Doumeng.

As it pertains to relating to the national organisations, Lee said that it also helps that Current CHTA General Director Frank Comito formerly held the position of Executive Director of the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association.

Lee is now in the process of writing an impact paper based on recent developments in Cuba, which he hopes to complete soon. CHTA is coming out with an opinion on the issue, and Lee says he hopes that the CHTA will continue in the direction of becoming a "thought leader and trend setter" in the Caribbean tourism industry.

Lee is the General Manager of Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Condo Hotel, and the former President of St. Maarten's national association under CHTA, the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA).