Caribbean tourism marketplace is ‘serious business’
Published:Monday | June 3, 2024 | 12:08 AMPaul H. Williams/Gleaner Writer
For two days, May 21-22, tourism stakeholders, buyers and sellers, and others took over the hall in Building A at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in St James. There were many attractive booths set up and operated by tourism businesses from all over the Caribbean. It was a good look, a great showpiece. But was it just that, a showpiece?
“Absolutely not!” said Jamaica’s Director of Tourism Donovan White as he spoke with The Gleaner in the big Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) booth on the second day of the marketplace. With Jamaica being host destination, and JTB being destination sponsor of the event, in partnership with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association, this Caribbean affair was important to Jamaica’s tourism development.
“It is extremely important to Jamaica that we were able to bring all the major travel buyers from around the world to the Caribbean at this time. It is also very important to us because it allowed us to bring new travel buyer, buyers who have never seen or sold Jamaica before, to meet with some of our travel suppliers in the Jamaican marketplace. We’ve been able to bring about 14 new buyers, which then enable us also to expand the demand portfolio for Jamaica,” White told The Gleaner, which asked about what Jamaica was leveraging.
“I am leveraging the fact that we are one of the most in-demand destinations around the world, and this is why people who have never sold Jamaica are looking to come to Jamaica to find out how they can begin to sell Jamaica,” White responded. “The advantage for us is that it’s hosted in Jamaica, so you get to see and feel Jamaica more than you can see and feel anywhere else.”
As to whether or not the event is just a show, White continued, “This is a B-to-B conference and there are serious people here doing serious business. Travel and tourism is the fastest-growing business segment globally … . People are here to do business with the most in demand region in the world, which is the Caribbean … . So there’s no coming here on a vacation … . People are here to grow their bottom line, and while they are at it, in the evenings they go out to enjoy Jamaica.”
Up to the time of the interview, things were going according to plan. “So far, we have had a pretty structured plan that has gone extremely well. I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to look at the conference magazine … it’s a fantastic production of selling the destination … which we were very careful to do because that’s something that people take away with them, and it gives them time to read and absorb more about Jamaica,” White shared.
In a subsequent release, the JTB says, “As the host of the 42nd Caribbean Travel Marketplace, Jamaica is reporting that the event was sold out with a strong growth in new buyers. The Montego Bay Convention Centre, which was the backdrop for the two-day event, hosted a record 1,200 delegates, of which 38 were new buyers. One of the main features of the event, the Caribbean Travel Forum, was also sold out with 335 participants.”
The release quotes Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett as saying, “We are pleased that Jamaica has attracted this much attention for the largest trade show in the region. The team pulled out all the stops for this execution to ensure that delegates were in an environment that supported strong business-to-business efforts. This is what Caribbean Travel Marketplace is about, and Jamaica added a boost for our suppliers and buyers to partner and create business opportunities for the region.”
The event was executed under the oversight of Jamaica’s own Nicola Madden-Grieg, in her capacity as president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA). She demits office later this year.
“I am proud that Jamaica, my home country, played host to this year’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace. We are known for our excellent hospitality, and the destination did not disappoint in showcasing its authentic experiences. More importantly, our delegates were able to do some serious business,” Madden-Grieg says in the JTB release.
The JTB release also says many delegates said the execution and experience was a success. One such delegate is Dexter Percil, head of marketing, St Lucia Tourism Authority.
“CHTA has always been a good platform where we can meet our partners, suppliers and buyers,” said Percil. “As one of the leading honeymoon destinations, we could not miss being here. We have a strong presence here, which signifies the importance of CHTA to the St Lucia market. Jamaica is also vital to us, and we want to elaborate on the St Lucia and Jamaica connection.”