Jamaica has been named as the next destination to host the 42nd staging of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace expected to take place in May 2024 in Montego Bay, St James.

The announcement jointly made by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett and CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig came during a press conference at this year’s 41st staging of the event which took place at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Barbados this week, of which over 700 participants were said to have been in attendance.

“It has been five years since Caribbean Travel Marketplace was held in Jamaica and we are happy that this has been finalised to move forward. I am sure it will be a very fruitful exchange for everyone who will be participating. We will be announcing the dates and schedule of activities soon,” stated Madden-Greig.

“It is quite fitting to have Jamaica host this premier regional event as we continue on our path to growth. This event will add greatly to our tourism suppliers and buyers and ultimately create strong partnerships moving forward. It will also provide multi-destination opportunities for participants who may want to have different experiences over the period,” Bartlett added.

A feature of the programme will include the 3rd annual CHTA Travel Forum that will be held in conjunction with the Global Tourism Resilience Crisis and Management Centre (GTRCM). The CHTA Travel Forum will focus on issues of sustainability, resilience and diversification to attain the forecasted growth prospects for the entire region.

“There is no better place to host Caribbean Marketplace than Jamaica and I am sure all who attend will fall in love with our rich culture and dynamic tourism offerings,” commented director of tourism Donovan White.

At the just-concluded staging, Jamaica copped the prestigious ‘Destination Resilience Award’ for its recovery efforts during the novel coronavirus pandemic and for its tourism resilience-building initiatives including the world-renowned ‘resilience corridor’ which it created to resume tourism activities safely on the island after months of closure. The award recognises destinations having a deliberate focus on resilience as indicated by their commitments to addressing some or all of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) 17 sustainable development goals.

The CHTA Marketplace, ranked a premier regional tourism event, offers tourism suppliers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with wholesalers from around the world, allowing them to sell Caribbean vacations and travel over the course of two days of business meetings. The two day event consists of pre-scheduled appointments between suppliers and buyers allowing for both to conduct negotiations that benefit the region.

In 2022 the event featured 25 Caribbean destinations, 125 buyer and 159 supplier companies across 23 markets and was attended by some 736 delegates and comprised over 9,000 pre-scheduled appointments.