John Bell, General Director and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of CHA (Caribbean Hotel Association) is holding his 25 anniversary in this organization he contributed to set up since its inception.

John Bell joined CHA in 1974 when he was appointed First Executive Director of the organization and President of the Small Hotels Advisory Council. One of its most important contributions has been the setting up of Marketplace, i. e. business meetings among hoteliers and wholesalers personally supervised by him. He has also contributed to the holding of several events and conferences organized under the CHA'S auspices such as Small Hotel Retreat, the culinary event Taste of the Caribbean, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference and CHIC, the annual conference of the hotel industry which paid homage to him in his recent edition last June at Bahama's Atlantis Resort Hotel for his dedication in promoting the Caribbean. We have held an exclusive interview with him. What does this 25 years of work has meant for you? This association has been my whole life. How the Caribbean region has developed during these years? When I joined CHA in 1974, the Caribbean region was seen in tourism sector like a sort of cursed word. The inhabitants of Caribbean countries used to see tourists as the whites who came to this region whose hosts were the blacks who served them. That is why they used to despise tourism, they did not regard it as a genuine economic field. Twenty five years after, Caribbean governments have finally realized that tourism is the only economic option for the economic self-determination, i.e. to become self-sufficient. This transition from nothing to all in terms of tourism has been very rewarding to me. You have met many people whose work has been significant for the dissemination and development of the Caribbean? It's a long list but allow me to name some of them: Jean Holder, CTO President would be one of the first, he began just 3 months before me and our carriers have been very similar. Howard Houlford from Antigua, former CHA President; George Myers from Bahamas for his determination to set up Marketplace, Heinz Simonitsch from Jamaica for the setting up of CHARM, a reservation system for the hotels located in the Caribbean, Brighton Hopkin from Grenada for his commitment in the training of professionals and John Jefferis from Trinidad & Tobago. Finally, what does the word Caribbean mean for John Bell? The Caribbean Sea and all what it touches and this comprises life, culture... it is the life of the Caribbean people, and at the same time what goes beyond its geographic borders. It is a life style, a culture, a thought.