MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is reporting that a record 1,200 delegates, 38 of whom were new buyers, attended this year’s staging of Caribbean Travel Marketplace held in Jamaica’s resort capital Montego Bay last week.

One of the main features of the two-day event was also sold out with 335 participants, the organisers said.

The participation left the organisers happy, and suppliers are now awaiting expected bookings from the event.

“We are pleased that Jamaica has attracted this much attention for the largest trade show in the region,” Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said. “The team pulled out all the stops for this execution to ensure that delegates were in an environment that supported strong business-to-business efforts. This is what Caribbean Travel Marketplace is about and Jamaica added a boost for our suppliers and buyers to partner and create business opportunities for the region.”

Delegates had two full days of business meetings inside the Montego Bay Convention Centre exhibition hall and CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig was upbeat about Jamaica’s successful hosting of the event.

“I am proud that Jamaica, my home country, played host to this year’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace. We are known for our excellent hospitality and the destination did not disappoint in showcasing its authentic experiences. More importantly, our delegates were able to do some serious business,” Madden-Grieg was quoted as saying in a release from the Ministry of Tourism.

Director of Tourism Donovan White agreed.

“Jamaica is truly the ideal space to have executed this year’s staging of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, with our vibrant culture and energetic spirit. Our delegates were treated to our usual warm Jamaican hospitality, gastronomic delights, and authentic music and dance,” he said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by several delegates, who added that the execution and experience were successful.

“It is always a pleasure to be at CHTA and spend time with our other Caribbean counterparts. This show is very important to our industry as a whole because we meet with our buyers and media to discuss strategies for moving forward in the space as a joint Caribbean vacation destination. It is important to be here to get updated information on trends for the Caribbean,” Alani Henneman, assistant commissioner at the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, said.

Dexter Percil, head of marketing, St Lucia Tourism Authority, concurred.

“CHTA has always been a good platform where we can meet our partners, suppliers, and buyers. As one of the leading honeymoon destinations we could not miss being here. We have a strong presence here which signifies the importance of CHTA to the St Lucia market. Jamaica is also vital to us, and we want to elaborate on the St Lucia and Jamaica connection,” Percil said.

A new feature of Caribbean Travel Marketplace was a 10-day familiarisation tour of the Cayman islands, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica for five specially invited travel journalists.

The event had 137 company buyers, representing 25 countries, and 38 new buyers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States of America. There were 207 company suppliers from 27 Caribbean destinations and a total of 12,724 scheduled appointments.