March 19, 2024
he 42nd staging of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace, scheduled to take place at the Montego Bay Convention Center from May 20-23, 2024, will feature new new additions and three dedicated tracks, promising an even more dynamic and engaging experience for attendees.
During a recent “Caribbean Fireworks” press conference in Kingston, CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig stated, “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.”
Caribbean Travel Marketplace will kick off with the Caribbean Travel Forum on May 20, focusing on “Visioning a New Tourism Landscape for the Caribbean”. The forum will feature an awards luncheon to honor the Caribbean Hotelier of the Year and present Destination Resilience honors and the President’s Award for Excellence in Caribbean Tourism.
Responsible Tourism Day, which will coincide with Jamaica’s Labour Day on May 23, will include a focus on addressing climate change, sustainable development, and agricultural linkages to emphasize responsible stewardship of tourism communities.
CHTA
CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig, OD at last week’s press conference.
Madden-Greig highlighted the introduction of a dedicated Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) itinerary for the first time, with 20 meeting planners attending the inaugural Caribbean MICE Exchange. She emphasized the significant potential of the MICE market, which generated over US$900 billion globally in 2023 and is expected to double by 2032. “It is time for the Caribbean to focus on getting a bigger slice of that very significant pie,” she asserted.
The event will also welcome 50 regional and international media representatives, a handful of whom will participate in the first multi-destination media familiarization trip to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands, aimed at showcasing the rich cultural diversity of these nations and promoting multi-destination travel within the Caribbean.
Madden-Greig reported that 150 buyer companies are expected to attend Marketplace with significant interest from Asia, Europe, and Latin America. To date, 86 buyer companies have registered, surpassing the number from last year’s event by more than double at this stage. Among these, 14 new companies from countries including Estonia, Italy, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, the UK, and the US have registered.