The Alicante Quartet: Four Global Tourism Veterans Reunite to Shape the Future

Earl McPhee of the Bahamas, Abdulfas Garayev of Azerbaijan, Alain St. Ange of the Seychelles, and Nico Barito of ASEAN reunite at 2026 CLEVENARD Conference as featured speakers and panelists.

Alicante, Spain — In the corridors of the CLEVENARD 2026 Conference, a rare convergence of global tourism powerhouses took place, transcending the usual conference pleasantries to forge a renewed pact of cooperation.

Four seasoned veterans, separated by continents, decades of service, and distinct career trajectories, found themselves back in the same room. Earl McPhee of the Bahamas, Abdulfas Garayev of Azerbaijan, Alain St. Ange of the Seychelles, and Nico Barito, representing ASEAN, wasted no time in agreeing to work together again.

They are not just speakers and panelists; they are the architects of an industry that has, above all else, been built on people, friendship, and shared vision.

A Reunion of Titans

The meeting was a testament to the enduring nature of professional bonds in the tourism sector.

• Earl McPhee (Bahamas): Former Senior Director of International Relations and Sustainable Economic Development, now Owner and Manager of Let’s Go Travel Bahamas, bringing the private sector’s agility to the table.
• Abdulfas Garayev (Azerbaijan): Former Minister of Culture and Tourism and former President of the UNWTO Executive Council (2017), now an Associate Professor in Baku and Visiting Professor at Coventry University, UK.
• Alain St. Ange (Seychelles): Former Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, currently serving as Ambassador-at-Large for the Republic of Seychelles.
• Nico Barito (ASEAN): Special Envoy of the Seychelles President for ASEAN, based in Jakarta, acting as the vital bridge between the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia.

“It was great to catch up after so many years. Tourism remains so much the industry built on friendship, and friendship continues to rally friends to work together and support each other,” said Ambassador St. Ange, reflecting on the reunion.

From the Corridors to Action

The significance of the gathering extended far beyond the stage. Immediately following their shared session, the group moved into the conference corridors to turn sentiment into strategy.

Garayev and McPhee, in particular, began reaching out to their extensive networks of past leaders and current players. Their goal: a renewal drive to bring this experienced group back into coordinated action.

In an era where institutional memory often fades as leaders move on to new chapters, this quartet chose to treat their combined experience as a pooled asset. They recognized that the future of tourism requires not just new ideas, but the wisdom of those who have steered the ship through decades of change.

Bridging the Oceans

The reunion is particularly symbolic given their diverse geographic and functional representations:

• The Caribbean (McPhee) brings a focus on sustainable economic development and private enterprise.
• The Caucasus/Europe (Garayev) offers a bridge between emerging markets and academic rigor, having served at the helm of the world’s leading tourism body.
• The Indian Ocean (St. Ange & Barito) provides the strategic link between the Seychelles and the vast ASEAN market, ensuring that island nations and Southeast Asian economies remain interconnected.

People First, Always

The CLEVENARD 2026 Conference, often focused on data, infrastructure, and market trends, found its human heart in this meeting.

“These four remain engaged in tourism, and all pledged to stay a positive force in the sector they spent much of their careers shaping,” the organizers noted.

As the conference continues, the message from Alicante is clear: the industry’s greatest resource is not its hotels or flights, but the people who connect them. When leaders like McPhee, Garayev, St.Ange, and Barito unite, they do more than just share a stage; they build a legacy of cooperation that will outlast any single term or conference.

Tourism, at its core, remains a people-first industry. And tonight, in Alicante, the people decided to stand together.