- PLANS IN HIGH GEAR FOR THE 42ND CHTA CARIBBEAN TRAVEL MARKETPLACE
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace is set to take place on May 21 and 22 in Jamaica. The travel trade show is a marketing event for the Caribbean region that showcases Caribbean products to wholesalers, tour operators and buyers around the world. Jamaica hosted Caribbean Travel Marketplace in 2019 which will return to the island for its 42nd staging at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.
In 2022, Caribbean Travel Marketplace was held in person after the pandemic with the attendance of 700 delegates from 44 countries. Held in Barbados last year, the inaugural CHTA Travel Forum was held which gained the attendance of 254 delegates.
“This is a great opportunity for us as a Caribbean people not just to showcase the strength and power of our assets but also to provide leadership with innovation. The overview of this event indicates that the region is now ready to pivot and take a new perspective on itself in this post-COVID era to grow tourism to another level,” Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism expressed at a press briefing held yesterday in Kingston. He also noted that responsible tourism is an important part of tourism’s innovation and is a way in which the region can be labelled as the destination of the future.
This year’s staging boasts three sections which involves the business of tourism highlighted at the Caribbean Travel Forum, the marketing of tourism which will be executed at CHTA Travel Marketplace and the community of tourism to be observed as ‘Responsible Tourism Day’. Nicola Madden-Greig, President of the CHTA noted, “This year we are making a special effort to bring more new buyer delegates and we have expanded to target buyers from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia.” She noted that this year’s marketplace for the first time will organize and manage through the CHTA a multi-destination media familiarization trip to Cayman, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Five specially invited members of the media will set out to attend a 10-day trip to experience these Caribbean islands and their unique offerings.
Special focus will be placed on community tourism with the inaugural ‘Responsible Tourism Day.’ The CHTA has confirmed three of their five target projects which includes activities with the Montego Bay Marine Park, the SOS Children’s Village and an agriculture project with Croydon Estate which supplies fruits and vegetables to the tourist industry. Madden-Greig expressed, “We at CHTA recognize as the issues of climate change and sustainable development continue to confront us, we must play our part in making and ensuring change. So not only will we talk about business and market tourism, but we will also be responsible stewards of our tourism communities.”
Donovan White, Director of Tourism, JTB is looking forward to this year’s staging. “Hosting Caribbean Travel Marketplace is a great opportunity to showcase not only the Caribbean but also destination JAMAICA and its rich offerings and experiences. This collective effort helps to boost the Caribbean as a tourism hotspot and we look forward to making this year’s staging memorable,” he noted. The JTB will provide destination experiences for fifty (50) regional and international media representatives who are tasked with sharing their local experience through their respective publications.
