Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2019 a bustling success

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, was the scene of vibrant activity as business operators and delegates from some 19 ­countries in the Caribbean came ­together recently for the hosting of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2019 trade show.

Patrons were kept busy throughout the three-day show as they perused over 250 business booths set up in the convention centre’s ­auditorium, and the ­traders were ­likewise fully engaged in making connections with prospective ­international partners.

The exhibition, which was put on by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, included local Jamaican showcases and displays from other Caribbean countries, to include Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, and even as far away as the US Virgin Islands.

Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association President Omar Robinson, who was on hand to witness the bustling activity at the trade show, hailed the event as a tremendous success.

“The event has been wonderful and it’s been successful, with the addition of new buyers from China and India, and we have a whole contingent from Latin America, which is a ­growing market for us,” said Robinson. “Based on the feedback from both the hoteliers and tour operators, it’s been an overall success.”

Shelly-Ann Fung-King, chief executive officer of VIP Attractions, which is based in New Kingston, was ecstatic about how the event had sparked the interest of potential foreign investors in her company’s offerings.

“We’ve had lots of visitors to our booth, and we’ve had quite a few people that have expressed an ­interest, who’ve done their research and know about our product, and they’ve expressed how much they love it and want to partner with us. The interest we’ve got from the Latin American group, as well as even the Chinese, is phenomenal thus far,” said Fung-King.