The Belize Hotel Association held its 2019 Biannual Meeting on Tuesday, December 3, from 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel located in Western Belize. Attendance consisted with the presence of the BHA Board of Directors, Association Members, CEO Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Yashin Dujon, Ministry of Tourism officers, Belize Tourism Board representatives, other tourism stakeholders and invited guests. 

Prior to the Biannual Meeting, the Belize Hotel Association hosted an informative morning seminar themed “Being in the Micro-Moment” from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM which highlighted how to maximize intent-driven moments that have taken over the customer journey.

The first presenter, Mr. Mynor Larrieu, Associate Market Manager for Expedia, spoke on Staying Ahead of the Curve– leveraging partner-central tools to drive business across Expedia group sites and connect with potential customers. The second Presenter, Mr. Rasheed Girvan, Regional Digital Manager of Yello Media Group, discussed Beyond the Micro-Moment in which he highlighted ways in which businesses can remain active during crucial, decision-making moments and digital marketing strategies through Google, to ultimately promote brand awareness and ROI. The third presenter, Bram van Berkel, Director of Field Marketing for TravelClick, touched on the different stages of the customer journey and how to effectively target micro-moments and leverage data to drive conversion.

The Biannual Meeting commenced at 1:00 PM with the Presidential Address by Mr. Ted Tejada, President of the Belize Hotel Association, which underlined  BHA’s achievements throughout the year, including the partnerships and opportunities made with BHA members. This was followed by the Financial Report, given by BHA Treasurer, Mr. Rudy Gonzalez. Ms. Ilechia Flowers, Marketing & Membership Director, presented the Marketing Report which highlighted the international and local project initiatives that the BHA has been implementing this 2019 to further promote its members and the country of Belize.

Mr. Dominick Namis, Agency Partner Manager for Facebook USA and this year’s Keynote Speaker, spoke on three distinct areas that comprise a travel journey: Discovery, Convenience, and Connection. During his presentation, he shared that “in order to connect to the modern-day traveler, you need to communicate with them in a language and manner they understand. And, to do that, you must understand them. Today’s customers are a product of the digital era. They’ve become accustomed to personalized, convenient and always on-service. Marketers that can meet these expectations are the ones who find success.” This was followed by a lively and informative panel discussion on Micro-Moments moderated by Mr. Ted Tejada and presented by the panel of Speakers; Mynor Larrieu, Rasheed Girvan, Bram van Berkel, and Dominick Namis.

Other presentations included Belize Electricity Limited and Belize Telemedia Limited.

An auction of prizes and gift certificates was done in support of the BHA Scholarship Fund, a BHA initiative that assists with educational expenses for children whose parents are a staff of an Association Member. The BHA would like to thank all individuals and businesses who donated to this effort namely Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch, Sunbreeze Suites, Sunbreeze Hotel, The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Tropic Air, Hamanasi Adventures & Dive Resort, Umaya Resort & Adventures, Splash Dive Center, A Belizean Nirvana, Programme for Belize, Alexander Belize Luxury and Executives Suites, Ayin’Ha Adventures Ltd, Atlantic Bank Limited and Development Finance Corporation.

Ms. Stephanie Elena, Secretary of the Board, closed off the event with a Vote of Thanks. The Biannual Meeting was followed by a cocktail hour and networking that gave the opportunity for Allied Members and DMCs to mingle and sell their products to the attendees. 

The Belize Hotel Association would like to thank Expedia, TravelClick, Yello Media Group, Atlantic Bank Limited, Belize Electricity Limited, BIG Distributor, Recinos Imports, Avante Garde and Digi for sponsoring this event.