At the AHATA General Assembly
New Chairman Alfonso Riveroll makes an excellent speech
A.M. Digital
12/05/2005

The Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino hosted the Aruba Hotel & Tourism Association General Assembly last week. On the assembly’s agenda: the election of the new board with Chairman Alfonso Riveroll at the helm.

Riveroll, the owner of the Wyndham Aruba Resort Spa & Casino was visibly excited to assume the leadership of Aruba’s most important association

He’s honored and privileged he explained, to accept the role of Chairman of the Board of the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association. As a board member for the past years, and after serving as first vice chair this year he is well aware, he stated, of the responsibilities and challenges the position entails.

“Let me assure all of you who have placed your trust in me, that I am committed to making a major difference for AHATA and thus for the people of Aruba,” he declared.

A love Affair with Aruba

Riveroll first came to Aruba in 1955, and he’s had a love affair with the island since then, citing the warmth and friendliness of the people here, as the foundation of the island’s success.

Public & Private Sector Partnership

The new chairman of AHATA stated he believed in open doors, and in seeking alliances, thus promoting work in partnership with the members of the association, the business community and the government.

He will encourage, he declared, close ties with the Trade and Industry Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Retailers and the Gastronomic Association, and he would solicit opinions, support and cooperation in making tourism the greatest contributor to the well-being of Aruba as a community.

Message to the Aruba Tourism Authority

When addressing his colleagues at the Aruba Tourism Authority and other important public sector agencies, Riveroll said that it was time for new thinking and new ways of looking at their respective roles. He asked the public sector to become a facilitator, an enabler, and a cheerleader for the private sector.

Public sector agencies, he reiterated should attempt to control less, and be more concerned with results.

Global trends are clear, he explained, as less public sector bureaucracy yields more public & private sector partnerships, which are the keys to economic success.

Just like the private sector, Riveroll advised, government should also be modeled after enterprise, becoming flexible, entrepreneurial and most of all accountable.

Accountability, Riveroll stressed, must be the guiding light as Aruba moves forward.

Meet Aruba should become a partnership

Praising the recent creation of Meet Aruba, an effective Group Marketing and Sales Organization, Riveroll lamented that valuable time was wasted in trying to establish the ground rules for a partnership with the Aruba Tourism Authority, the government agency.

“In our industry,” Riveroll warned, “wasting time is like handing market share to our competitors. It is something that we simply cannot afford to do.”

Meet Aruba also formed an alliance with the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, and really put Aruba on the map in the Meetings and Convention market, in just three months, Riverol informed.

It is his hope; he added that the Aruba Tourism Authority, seeing the quick, success and professional results of Meet Aruba, would rejoin the organization, as originally intended
With private sector contributions, both financial and intellectual reflected in the board of governance, Meet Aruba could and would continue to grow, Riveroll indicated.

Team with Common Purpose

At the end of his presentation, Riveroll reflected a bit on the most unprecedented level of media attention, Aruba has received in the past six month, most of it negative.

“Our image,” he said, “has certainly been tarnished and AHATA has been at the forefront with ATA, ATIA, Government, Chamber of Commerce and local business leaders, teaming up with a common purpose, to preserve the island’s image and minimize the impact of the Holloway disappearance. We have fared well, but we need to face such challenges with bold and fast actions,” he stated.

He pointed out that despite having differences, all entities managed to develop a great rapport, a fact he deemed invaluable to future collaborations, and while he was committed to making a difference and to working with everyone who wanted to move mountains, he called for modification of outdated structures and old ways of thinking.

He concluded his well-received address with compliments to AHATA CEO, Jorge Pesquera his fine team and the AHATA board.

Aruba he predicted will remain the most successful destination in the Caribbean. And while the job as Chairman of the AHATA board is a voluntary one, Riverol expects it to become the most fulfilling job of his life.