SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Organisers and delegates at this year’s staging of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA’s) Caribbean Travel Marketplace held at the Puerto Rico Convention Centre in San Juan, have hailed the three-day event a success, as the tourism trade show ended last Friday with some 11,888 appointments kept between buyers and sellers on the trade floor.

“The staging of the 33rd edition was very successful,” a seemingly satisfied Vanessa Ledesma-Berrios, the CHTA’s chief operating officer, told the Jamaica Observer.

“We had participation from 102 tour operating companies from 18 markets, which is very comparable to the numbers that we had at the successful event in Jamaica last year. And in terms of supplier participation, we had 272 supplier companies from 29 Caribbean countries and a total of about 1,100 delegates.”

Added Ledesma-Berrios: “So in terms of the success of the event we matched not only the number of delegates and companies that attended [last year], but certainly the participation from the majority of the Caribbean countries, as well as the amount of business that was generated at the event.”

She noted that at this year’s event there was an increased interest from countries in Central and South America, adding that there was a new buyer from Brazil, as well as “significant interest in selling the Caribbean from Poland, Argentina, and Russia”.

“Russia has been participating at this event for a number of years now, but certainly there was an increase in doing business with our travel suppliers in the region,” she emphasised.

The buyer countries also included Australia, Barbados, Canada, Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and Ireland.

Although Ledesma-Berrios was unable to put a dollar value to the business done on the market floor over the two days, she said it amounts to millions.

Caribbean Travel Marketplace is the CHTA’s premier tourism marketing event.

The trade show matches suppliers — such as hotels, restaurants, and tourist boards — with buyers, such as tour operators and wholesalers in pre-scheduled business appointments where parties discuss existing contracts and develop business contracts and packages for future business.

Jamaica’s director of tourism Paul Pennicook, who participated in some of the meetings on the business floor, told the Business Observer on Friday that the event was a very positive trade show.

“Our representatives from the US, Canada, and United Kingdom met with representatives from the different markets. I, myself, sat in on some of those appointments, and coming out of it I got a very positive feeling about Jamaica, and already we are seeing positive signs about the summer,” he explained.

Gary Sadler, senior vice-president of sales at Unique Vacations Inc, the worldwide sales representatives for Sandals and Beaches resorts, was also pleased with the outcome of the event.

“Business for us was very good and strong,” Sadler said, noting that the company had a huge presence at the trade show.

“The days have been good; we have had meetings with a number of our key suppliers and that’s really what it’s about. The lion’s share of the business is outside of this environment, but you always have to meet new people, new partners and seek new opportunities,” he argued.

Marsha Mattos, sales manager at Mystic Mountain, stressed that during the trade show representatives from her company met with a number of key operators and put in place a number of strategies to drive business.

William Vassell, general manager at Cocola La Palm in Negril, also had high praises for the trade show.

“Marketplace has been good this year. The numbers trended in the right direction and that is excellent,” Vassell said, adding that his resort recently added 40 more rooms, making it a 107-room property.

Executive director at CHUKKA, Marc Melville, who was also in attendance at the event, told the Business Observer that all the meetings with his company during the trade show were very good.

“It has been a success. I believe the pace was a little bit slower than last year, but the meetings were very successful,” said Melville.

Next year’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace will be held in The Bahamas from January 24 to 26.