St Lucia tourism consultant receives top award

St Lucia tourism consultant receives top award

February 5, 2008
Caribbean Net News

CASTRIES, St Lucia: James Hepple, Marketing Consultant to the St Lucia Tourist Board, was honoured last week in New York in front of 1,000 travel industry sales and marketing executives when he received his award for making the ‘Hot List’ of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing” for 2007.

James Hepple

This annual ranking pays tribute to the best minds in hospitality travel and tourism sales and marketing saluting outstanding individuals who define innovation, vision and achievement and whose work gets great results.

“With the top 25 we get to honour the individuals behind those outstanding campaigns and smart strategies we see all year long.” states Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President and CEO of HSMAI. “We are looking to honour those whose work has really made a difference and raised the bar for the industry, and Jim Hepple is a very worthy recipient” he added.

Laurie Barnard, Chairman of the St Lucia Tourist Board, congratulated Hepple for having achieved the award and expressed pleasure at having being able to recruit Hepple to assist the SLTB in enhancing its marketing efforts as St Lucia’s tourist industry continues to evolve and expand.

Recipients of the award were nominated through a “call for entries” to the industry at large and judged by a panel of senior travel and tourism executives. Individuals were judged for their work over the last year based on the following criteria: creativity and innovation, cutting edge sales or marketing campaigns; triumph in challenging situations; and sales efforts that resulted in dramatic gains.

The Top 25 were honoured on stage at the HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala on Monday January 28th 2008 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. This prestigious black tie annual event, which is the equivalent of the Oscars for travel and tourism marketing, was attended by over 1,000 top travel and tourism executives.

The HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. Founded in 1927 HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprised of more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 39 chapters in the American region.

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