BHTA and IHB sign MOU

The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) and the Intimate Hotels of Barbados (IHB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) intended to leverage the strengths of both organisations for the benefit of their members.

The arrangement, which formally expands the long-standing partnership between the two entities, fosters a working agreement for the provision of administrative services and sharing of human resources. This includes advocacy and lobbying efforts, research, information dissemination and the coordination and hosting of quarterly, committee and category meetings.

Chairman of the BHTA Geoffrey Roach called the arrangement a mutually beneficial one. “These are unprecedented times and we recognise that, more than ever, we need to pool our resources to support each other. This MOU will allow our organisations to work more closely together for the benefit of our members.

“We look forward to it being the first of a number of new initiatives we will collaborate on, which will assist us in ensuring that the tourism industry in Barbados operates a lot more efficiently, especially as we navigate during this crisis.”

BHTA Chairman Geoffrey Roach and IHB Chairman Mahmood Patel (seated L-R) signing the MOU while BHTA CEO Senator Rudy Grant and IHB Executive Director Davina Layne look on.

Chairman of IHB, Mahmood Patel stated, “The IHB welcomes this agreement. We see it as a good move for both organisations as it capitalizes on our strengths and will give us the ability to face our mutual challenges as a unified group. In this COVID-19 era we all need to work together to create positive synergies, which will be beneficial for our members and the tourism industry on a whole.”

The MOU, which has been signed for a three-month period, is subject to review and modification on a quarterly basis.