Hundreds Expected for 37th Caribbean Travel Marketplace Expo in Mobay

Hundreds of local and regional tourism stakeholders will converge at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from January 29 to 31 for 37th Caribbean Travel Marketplace expo.

Stakeholders expected to attend the three-day event include: hotel and destination representatives; wholesalers and tour operators; online travel agencies; Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) planners; and members of the media.

The expo aims to bring together approximately 140 buyers and suppliers for discussions geared towards promoting travel across the Caribbean.

The discourse will focus on areas such as contracts; innovations and new ideas; and advancing negotiations.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said the number of buyers and suppliers involved represents the largest since the event’s initial staging seven years ago.

“There will be delegates from 24 Caribbean destinations and, for the first time, we will have major representation from China and India, which represent two of the largest travel markets,” he explained.

He was speaking at a press conference at the Ministry’s offices in New Kingston on January 16 to provide updates on several initiatives slated for later this month in Montego Bay.

Organised by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Caribbean Travel Marketplace is being staged in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry, Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association (JHTA), and Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).

Meanwhile, the CHTA’s Chief Marketing Officer, Matt Cooper, said Jamaica was chosen for the event because of the country’s position as a “thought leader”.

“Jamaica is a country that is not afraid to take its thought leadership and make it into action. So we are really shining a light on Jamaica as a leader in Caribbean travel,” he said.