Tourism stalwarts feted at UNWTO Gala
Published:Thursday | November 30, 2017 | 12:00 AMJanet Silvera
WESTERN BUREAU:
Five men who have paved the way for advancements in tourism - on land, air and sea - were recognised for their distinctive brands in generating employment, increasing income and the creation of linkages, on Tuesday night at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. The five - Jamaica's Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, chairman and founder of Sandals Resorts International; David Scowsill, former president of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC); Taleb Rifai, outgoing secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organisation; Carnival Corporation's Micky Arison; and president and CEO of the Punta Cana Group, Frank Rainieri Marranzini - received awards at a gala during the UNWTO, the Government of Jamaica and its partners' just concluded global conference on jobs and inclusive growth.
"Our five awardees, through their wealth of knowledge and experience, have achieved successful careers and served their countries and the sector with distinction. Individually, these innovators have developed their respective brands into world-recognised entities," said the man behind the awards, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.
The three-day conference, which was expected to set a new pace for the development of partnerships, was supported by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Airbnb, Sandals, Chemonics International, George Washington University, Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association, Caribbean Tourism Organisation, J Wray and Nephew Limited, Caribbean Producers Jamaica and several other stakeholders in the tourism industry.
The Gleaner brings you highlights of the top-class gala, which had in attendance two of Jamaica's beauty queens - Miss Jamaica World Solange Sinclair and Miss Universe Jamaica Davina Bennett - as well as President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina Sanchez; Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness; and St Lucia's Prime Minister Allen Chastanet.