KINGSTON will host the 13th annual Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX), scheduled for May 4 – 6.

Plans for the event were outlined Tuesday by director of tourism, Paul Pennicook and president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Josef Forstmayr at a press conference held at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston.

Delegate buyers at JAPEX 2003 will have two full days to meet and negotiate with Jamaican suppliers on the trade floor at the Hilton Kingston where JHTA members from Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios/Runaway Bay, Port Antonio, the South Coast and Kingston will mount their displays.

This year again, JAPEX will feature a special familiarisation blitz for Caribbean travel agents with approximately 200 of them set to tour the island before attending a marketing presentation at the Jamaica Pegasus. At that event, members of the various JHTA Chapters will showcase their regions. The travel agents will also “walk the floor” and meet JAPEX seller delegates at the Hilton.

The hospitality and tourism industry’s premier event, JAPEX brings overseas buyers, tour operators and travel agents to market with local hoteliers and allied professionals.

Hosted annually by the JHTA and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), JAPEX is seen as an invaluable marketing opportunity especially for smaller properties which do not have the resources to attend the various international trade shows.

Organisers says JAPEX 2003 takes on added significance, given the current war in Iraq and fears of terrorism and illness related to some destinations as the Caribbean to be seen by analysts as safe alternatives for vacationers.