Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Antigua and Barbuda Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation and Investment, The Honourable Charles Fernandez has joined Caribbean tourism leaders in Barbados for the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace business meetings starting today at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center, Barbados.
A day earlier, the minister attended the CHTA’s Caribbean Travel Forum, a new event that focuses on the business of tourism in the Caribbean with specific topics such as multi-destination marketing, intra-Caribbean travel with emphasis on air connectivity, sustainability, technology innovation, labour market, taxation and linkages.
In a State of the Industry and Region Address delivered at the forum, CHTA President, Nicola Madden-Greig, provided a recap on Caribbean Tourism and the impact of the pandemic on the Caribbean Tourism Industry. “Travel continues to rise across the globe. The Caribbean as a region is the fastest recovering region in the world as far as tourism is concerned. And I think we deserve a round of applause. It has been the effort of our many, many, public sector leaders, our prime ministers, our ministers of tourism and also the private sector and the ministries of health and the CMOs that have got us here,” said the CHTA President.
Prime Minister of Barbados, The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Q.C., M.P, during her keynote address inspired those at the forum with an investment and a shared interest in the region and its development to be “Be shapers, not takers”, a phrase that reverberated throughout other speaker presentations during the day.
Other Discussion topics included: Responsible and Resilience Tourism as well as Technology and its impact on Caribbean tourism.
Following the forum, Minister Fernandez indicated that “As Antigua and Barbuda moves to surpass our 2019 tourism arrivals, we are forging ahead with a vision for our country’s tourism industry, that includes continued sustainable tourism development that will provide opportunities for more local businesses and allow those employed locally to reap more benefits from the tourism industry.”
Antigua and Barbuda Directors of Tourism from the USA, UK & Europe, Caribbean and Canada have also travelled to Barbados for today’s start of Caribbean Travel Marketplace.
Caribbean Travel Marketplace affords tourism suppliers 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.
