Jamaican tourism stalwart in New York has died

NEW YORK, NY:

Patricia Lawrence Haughton, former president and CEO of Alken Tours & Apel Travel in New York has died.

Lawrence Haughton, 67, died on Tuesday at an out patient facility in New York after an extended illness.

Patricia ran Alken/ Apel for several decades. The company was built from the ground up by her pioneering father Al Lawrence and the company was at one point the largest black-owned retail travel agency in New York City, generating significant growth for travel business to Jamaica, the wider Caribbean, and to various countries in Africa.

Alken/ Apel was also the first Black-owned agency in the lucrative New York tri-state market region to secure a contract with American Airlines in the early 1980s. The then legendary senior vice president of American Airlines Peter Dolara became a great admirer of Alken and a friend of the family.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Patricia Lawrence Haughton”, John Lynch, chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board lamented. “Alken was my first client when I started working in ground transportation many years ago. I was very close to her family and on behalf of Jamaica, I would like to salute Pat for the wonderful work she did over the years to grow travel to Jamaica.

LEGACY STANDS TALL

Lawrence Haughton was a mover and shaker in the business of events travel, and she was also engaged in a range of community activities in New York. Although she became less active in recent months due to illness, she still found the strength and the courage to attend the 70th anniversary party of the Jamaica Tourist Board a few weeks ago at the Hard Rock Hotel in Times Square, New York where she was warmly embraced by colleagues, well-wishers and friends.

“It is with a heavy heart that I honor the passing of a great friend and a remarkable woman whose legacy stands tall in the world of travel, culture and community”, David Lampel, veteran New York City broadcaster and the owner of several TV stations across the USA and the Caribbean told The Gleaner. Pat and her company opened a gateway not only for tourism but for deeper cultural and economic ties that transformed the way Black Americans and Caribbean Americans experienced the world”, he added.

Patricia’s brilliance, dedication and passion earned the admiration of global airlines, tourism boards and communities around the world. When she decided to marry, she took her own wedding in the 1990s to the Ocho Rios resort that had just opened (Ciboney, now Sandals Ochi) so as to support the new resort with her army of influential friends.

“Pat’s passing marks the end of an era”, Vinette K Pryce, her close friend and New York City journalist told The Gleaner. “Pat’s efforts enabled thousands of Americans to attend jazz, reggae, dancehall, R & B and hip hop events across the USA, the Caribbean and Ghana. She will be greatly missed”.

Lawrence Haughton is survived by her husband Noel, her younger brother Alex and other relatives and friends.