Wyndham Executive to be Keynote Speaker at
8th Annual Tourism Awards Banquet
~~Adz:Left~~ Basseterre, St. Kitts 14th September 2008 – Senator Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, Minister of State with responsibility for Tourism, Sports and Culture announced today that Wyndham Worldwide Senior Vice President, Marco A. Roca will be the featured keynote speaker at the 8th annual St. Kitts Tourism Awards Banquet being held on November 1st 2008 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
The Tourism Awards Banquet is the climax of the annual St. Kitts tourism month of activities which focuses on public awareness building, stakeholder education and service excellence recognition in the local tourism sector. The theme of the month is, “Tourism. – The Time Is Now. The Opportunity Is Yours.”
Mr. Roca is Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales and Development responsible for overseeing sales of the Wyndham, Wingate by Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Baymont Inn & Suites and AmeriHost Inn brands in Latin America and the Caribbean.
He joined the company in 2005 as Senior Vice President of development, responsible for helping to grow the Wingate Inn brand in North America and the Days Inn, Ramada and Howard Johnson brands in Latin America.
Mr. Roca previously served Starwood Hotels and Resorts as VP of Development in Atlanta, responsible for the company’s growth in Canada, the eastern United States and the Caribbean.
From 1999 to 2004 he served The Simmons Company in Atlanta as Vice President of global licensing, contract and international operations. From 1997 to 1999 he was a Vice President for Starwood, based in Orlando Florida.
Mr. Roca served US Franchise Systems as director of franchise sales based in San Antonio from 1995 to 1997. He served Holiday Inn Worldwide as VP of Operations and Development for Latin America, based in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 1994 to 1995. From 1987 to 1994 he worked for Forte Hotels in Mexico City in a variety of sales capacities including VP and Managing Director of Latin America.
Mr. Roca began his career at the property level with Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1984.
The Banquet is part of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority’s program to elevate the local industry’s service standard as well as to encourage stakeholders to innovate and create unique Kittitian experiences and distinctive service elements for their customers in order to enhance St. Kitts’ regional and global competitiveness. The event will bring together service sector leaders, tourism and travel professionals, in addition to award finalists who will gather to honour the stars of the industry.
