GREAT BAY(DCOMM):--- Minister Hon. Ingrid Arrindell of the Ministry Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT), attended the Caribbean’s largest and most important marketing event, Caribbean Travel Marketplace, that was held from January 21-23 on Atlantis Paradise Island, The Bahamas.
Minister Arrindell met with various delegates from the travel industry and also completed a number of very important initiatives linked to the country’s “Save the Summer Program.” This initiative will ensure an increase in tourism summer bookings and improve visitor air-arrivals during the most challenging period of the year for the country’s tourism-oriented economy.
The Minister of Tourism met with representatives of the world’s largest travel sites that enable travelers to plan their vacations to the Caribbean and around the world including destination Sint Maarten, such as Expedia and TripAdvisor.
There were additional discussions with RCI and Sun Wing Airlines among other partners that contribute significantly to the country’s tourism product.
The aforementioned travel marketplace falls under the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA). It brings together tourism suppliers and gives them the opportunity to meet face-to-face with wholesalers from around the world selling Caribbean vacation travel over the course of two days of business meetings.
“I look forward to working closely with all members of the tourism industry on Sint Maarten in order to promote more participation at future events. As a tourism dominated economy, we need to have everybody onboard as the promotion of the destination requires input from all segments of the industry to make our product continue to standout and be successful,” Minister of Tourism Ingrid Arrindell said on Sunday.
The event attracts annually representatives from 29+ Caribbean countries; over 250 suppliers; over 100 buyers; over 1000 delegates and more than 11,000 pre-scheduled business potential appointments.
The conference was well attended by Government Ministers of Tourism and other delegates, which allowed Minister Arrindell the opportunity to meet with counterparts from across the region and exchange ideas as well discuss challenges and other Caribbean oriented issues.
During the two-day event, there were a number of sessions including, Weddings and Honeymoons: How can you maximize revenue from romance.
The Caribbean is considered the romance capital of the world. Destination weddings and honeymoons is a lucrative business where three million weddings take place in the United States of America every year, of which 25 per cent of them are destination weddings.
The Caribbean is the number one honeymoon destination. Delegates during the conference learnt how to capture more of this market through better planning, sales and management.
Other sessions for delegates dealt with: Cutting through the channel clutter: effective channel management; Website Reality Check; Real World Results with Digital Audience Targeting; Who Are You Online? Online Reputation Management and Monetization; Content, Marketing & Metrics.
The CHTA first began in 1959 and is currently headquartered in Miami, Florida. It was established to facilitate the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving member needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. The CHTA represents hotels, airlines, and travel wholesalers.
Minister Arrindell was accompanied by Marla Chemont from the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.
