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Gay Nagle Myers
The countdown is the 40th trade fair for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, Oct. 3 to 5 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan.
“This will be the first live, in-person, all-Caribbean-centric business event of this size in the region in two years,” said Karen Witt, Hartling Group vice president of sales and marketing in the Turks. Caicos
January 2020 marked the last live market held in Nassau, weeks before Covid closed borders and travel. Last May, the 2021 version was virtual.
Witt said the 2022 buyer companies’ enrollment numbers were ahead of estimates. “Our appointment program for one-on-one supplier-to-buyer meetings opened at the beginning of August and has been rolling in fast and furious ever since,” she says.
That pace reflects traveler interest in visiting Caribbean destinations, Witt said. “The Caribbean continues to be one of the world’s most sought-after destinations,” she said. “Having Caribbean tourism buyers and sellers meet in one place for three days will definitely help the recovery of the region.
“We’ve all been working in a bubble for two years,” she added. “Now that the region has opened up, we need to expose the destinations and their properties. Many new hotels and attractions have opened and existing properties are using the Covid period to upgrade, renovate and renovate, so the marketplace is the place to discover everything the Caribbean has to offer in one setting.”
CHTA Acting CEO and Executive Director Vanessa Ledesma said more than 75 buyer companies representing 17 markets including meetings and conferences, destination weddings, romance, adventure, sports and other niche markets have registered.
“20 of those buyer companies represent new buyers to the Caribbean, which expands business opportunities for the stakeholders involved. On the supplier side, we have 135 companies representing 25 Caribbean destinations. The total number of delegates registered as of August 18 is 472,” Ledesma reported.
The focal point of this year’s conference will be the Destination Pavilions, a new feature to showcase the strength, diversity and culture of Caribbean countries.
“The pavilions are not designed as meeting places during the conference, but as focal points and display areas for attendees. Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are listed as destinations and we will have a total of six pavilions,” Witt said.
In addition to in-person appointments, Marketplace events include a trade show, seminars, destination updates, pre- and post-Fam tours, media press releases and networking.
This year marks the Marketplace’s 40th anniversary and CHTA’s 60th anniversary, and both events will be the centerpiece of several events, starting with an evening opening ceremony on Oct. 3 at Distrito T-Mobile, an entertainment and culinary complex. In the year Opened in 2020 across from the convention center.
“Puerto Rico is pulling out all the stops for us as the host venue,” Witt said. “The destination has hosted the market nine times in the past 40 years, and the last one was in 2018, just after Hurricane Maria. There has been a lot of recovery and change in Puerto Rico, including hotel and resort upgrades and new meeting facilities and attractions.”
He added: “The opening night ceremony promises to be a showcase that serves as a showcase for what we are all working towards at CHTA: a successful, efficient, exciting marketplace, encouraging the region’s recovery and raising awareness of it all.” The Caribbean region has to offer.”
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