The announcement, made by Peter Odle, president of CHA, at the 12 Annual Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference, held May 6-8, was met with enthusiasm by the audience of developers, lenders, bankers, real estate and hotel operators that made up the record-breaking 522 conference delegates at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

CHA released a Pre-Offering Memorandum about the proposed Fund which is contingent and conditional upon expressions of interest received from potential investors and investees and to relevant governmental and regulatory approvals.

"The establishment of the Fund is intended to address the investment needs of specific sectors of the Caribbean tourism industry which are currently not being addressed by traditional sources of finance," said Peter Odle, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association.

"It is widely recognized within the Caribbean tourism industry that there is a financing gap which limits access to third-party equity and financing for owners and operators of small and medium sized resorts and tourism related enterprises looking to expand, renovate or build," Odle said.

"In a region dependent on tourism as the Caribbean, it is critical that this financing gap be addressed and this is the ultimate objective of CHA in proposing this Fund," said Odle, adding: "The Fund will target owners and operators of hotels with up to 150 rooms and other entities with proven track records and robust business plans."

CHA intends to register the Fund with relevant authorities in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago and may consider other counties in the region. The Trinidad & Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission has not in any way evaluated the merits of any potential securities referred to in the Pre-Offering Memorandum.

"We commissioned a White Paper by Capital Representatives in 2005 and subsequently enlisted the advice of a prominent array of Caribbean wide organizations including KPMG Corporate Finance, Caribbean Financial Services Corporation, First Caribbean International Bank and Clarke, Gittens and Farmer, a law firm in Barbados," said Odle.

"The Pre-Offering Memorandum was designed to give those who may wish to invest in the Fund or become investees of the Fund, an idea of the objectives and proposed structure of the Fund in advance of the offering prospectus," he said.

"We believe that the Fund will present an attractive investment opportunity for investors that wish to access the Caribbean tourism sector," Odle added.

An Investment Board will be responsible for approving or declining investment submissions from the Fund Manager. This Board will comprise an experienced team of financial, industry and business leaders and specialists who have successfully invested in, created and/or operated regional and international tourism-related activities.

Caribbean Financial Services Corporation (CFSC) will be the Manager of the Fund. The majority shareholding in CFSC is held by ECIC Holdings, Ltd., a holding company established by 10 indigenous commercial banks mainly from OECS countries.

Caribbean Hotel Association

The Caribbean Hotel Association aims to optimize the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving member needs and building partnerships. CHA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region - and CHA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 800 member hotels and 650 allied members.

For more information, visit http://www.caribbeanhotelassociation.com.

Media Contacts: Theresa Oakes/Josh Kahn/ KTCpr/ 516-594-4100/ T.Oakes@KTCpr.com/ J.Kahn@KTCpr.com