'No money in tourism fund'

Claudia Gardner, Hospitality Jamaica Writer

The Caribbean Tourism Investment Fund is yet to start accepting or making funds available. The delay is occasioned by the absence of a 'common and certain' legislative regime to guide member states, said Peter Odle, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).

Odle made his comments during a plenary session to update delegates on the $100-million fund, at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference held in Trinidad last Thursday.

"There is no money in the fund per se. Part of the challenge is we are trying to overcome all the securities exchange regulations," he told the gathering, adding, "When you are trying to set up a fund in so many different territories, it is actually not really that straightforward."

questions raised

"Certain countries still have a few questions with regards to certain aspects of the fund. Until those things have been sorted out and put to rest, we can't go out and accept money into the fund," he said.

Odle said the CHA was also seeking to get the respective finance ministers to waive some of the inevitable costs for transactions, which will be incurred prior to and during the operation of the funds.

"The finance ministers have the power, with the stroke of a pen, to waive some of the costs we will face, particularly some of the transaction costs," he said. "We have been working on this thing for the last year, flat out, but every time you face obstacles, you have to sort out and go to the next stage."

Last May, the CHA announced the establishment of the fund, which, it said at the time, was aimed at filling a "financing gap" in the region's tourism industry. The financing gap, it had noted, was the limited access to third-party equity and financing for owners/operators of resorts up to 150 rooms seeking to expand, renovate or take-over underperforming assets.

supporting applications

The fund is aimed at supporting applications, which consist of strong management teams with proven track records, and innovative business plans. So far, the CHA has appointed an investment advisory board and agreed on a framework for the fund.