Caribbean Travel Marketplace takes over Destination MoBay

JAMAICA’S TOURISM Mecca, Montego Bay, will be inundated with tourism stakeholders from various parts of the world starting on Monday, May 20 and culminating on Thursday, May 23. It is the 42nd staging of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace, scheduled to take place at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Approximately 1,000 delegates are expected to be in attendance, with about 150 supplier companies from several Caribbean destinations already set to participate. Representatives from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, The Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Saint-Martin, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands have registered so far.

Coming to the market to buy are 150 companies significantly from Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Eighty-six buyer companies have registered, doubling the number from last year’s staging, so far. Among these are 14 new companies from countries, such as Estonia, Italy, The Netherlands, Peru, Poland, the UK, and the US.

The event will also be flocked by 50 regional and international media representatives, a handful of whom will participate in the first multi-destination media familiarisation trip to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and The Cayman Islands. This is aimed at showcasing the rich cultural diversity of these countries and promoting multi-destination travel within the Caribbean.

The four-day gathering will comprise three distinct tracks according to CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig, who stated at a recent press conference that, “This year we will be taking the event to a new level with three distinct tracks – The ‘Business of Tourism’, in the form of the Caribbean Travel Forum; the ‘Marketing of Tourism’, CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace; and the ‘Community of Tourism’ with our first-ever ‘Responsible Tourism Day’.”

The Caribbean Travel Forum, focusing on ‘Visioning a New Tourism Landscape for the Caribbean’, leads off the activities on May 20. Included in the forum is an awards luncheon to honour the ‘Caribbean Hotelier of the Year’, as well as presentations of ‘Destination Resilience’ honours, and the ‘President’s Award for Excellence in Caribbean Tourism’. Day two and three are principally for business appointments.

The final day, ‘Responsible Tourism Day’, coinciding with Jamaica’s Labour Day on May 23, will include a focus on addressing climate change, sustainable development, and agricultural linkages. To this end, participants will visit Croydon in the Mountains estate, a key supplier of fruits and vegetables for the tourist industry; delegates will take part in a beach cleanup activity and educational tour at the Montego Bay Marine Park; and volunteers will visit the SOS Children’s Village in Barrett Town, where they will assist in painting, carpentry repairs, and the creation of a village farming project.

There will also be the introduction of a “dedicated” Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) itinerary, with 20 meeting planners attending the inaugural Caribbean MICE Exchange. Madden-Grieg said the MICE market generated over US$900 billion globally in 2023 and is expected to be doubled by 2032. “It is time for the Caribbean to focus on getting a bigger slice of that very significant pie,” she remarked.

Meanwhile, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association Robin Russell is of the view that Caribbean Marketplace is an excellent opportunity to access hoteliers and tourism suppliers.

He said, “You are able to interact with the very top of the food chain in every aspect of the business, from tour operators to travel agents … everybody who wants to do business comes to Marketplace.” He also said that for small enterprises, “it is probably the only opportunity you’re going to get unless you’re spending big money to interact with these persons.”

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who thanked the CHTA for selecting Jamaica to host this important gathering of tourism stakeholders, was as upbeat as ever. Among other things, he said, “(Caribbean Travel Marketplace) is not an event in the context of a single activity, but it’s an opportunity, 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.”