Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2019: A HISTORIC EVENT IN JAMAICA
THE REGION’S leading tourism marketing event, Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2019, has attracted over 30 new buyers from emerging markets in Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, Latin and South America, and China.
The event, which is being staged at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from January 29 – 31, is being described as historic, owing to the significant features that have been added to this year’s event, Jamaica’s tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, stated.
“We will have about 20 Chinese participants this year. This is the first time we are going to have the Chinese,” said Bartlett, excited about the prospect the trade show will offer in showcasing Jamaica, which is home to some of the newest, freshest, and most modern resorts in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Added to the traditional buyersupplier one-on-one meeting, Jamaica will host a summit during the trade show, on small and medium tourism enterprises, with former President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe bringing the keynote address.
AFFORDABLE FINANCES
“We are bringing financiers to meet and discuss ways and means to provide affordable financing to small and medium-sized operators. This will include the EXIM Bank; where there is already a $1 billion provided by the TEF,” Bartlett said.
The summit has attracted the likes of the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States, Luis Almagro Lemes, and a number of senior officers from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
The launch of the historic Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre in Kingston will bring a host of tourism leaders and ministers from Africa during the period.
“All this will add great value to Caribbean Marketplace, making it a historic event in Jamaica,” stated the tourism minister, whose comments were bolstered Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA) Frank Comito, who noted that this year, a customised approach was used to reach the additional regions, targeting markets that could benefit from the array of opportunities Caribbean Travel Marketplace has to offer.
He is urging persons who have not yet registered, particularly the small and medium-sized hotels, to capitalise on the opportunity that the trade show presents.
“When you combine all of this, it is offering a unique opportunity to the hoteliers,” he stated.
In the last number of years, there has been consolidation of buyer companies, lessening the pool of persons who attend looking to sign new contracts. However, already, with mere weeks away from the event, Comito says that over 1,000 participants will attend the event.
President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Omar Robinson, whose organisation has collaborated with the CHTA, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), and the Ministry of Tourism in staging in the 37th anniversary event, added that with the expansion now taking place the tourism industry, both in Jamaica and the region, it is particularly important to diversify the market and to use all avenues to increase business.
He explained that while the JHTA and the JTB jointly host the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) annually, Caribbean Travel Marketplace is the Caribbean’s largest tourism trade show, and holding the event in Jamaica would facilitate the introduction of an even more diverse group of buyers to the island.
“The event will give even greater visibility to Jamaica, allowing both buyers and suppliers to get a firsthand view of our new facilities and upgraded infrastructure. Small and medium-sized players in our local tourism industry will be able to interact with players who they might not have the opportunity to meet and do business with outside of a setting like this.”