Alec Sanguinetti, Director General and CEO for the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) announced that Caribbean Marketplace 2005 will be headquartered at Half Moon Montego Bay, Jamaica…
Alec Sanguinetti, Director General and CEO for the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) announced that Caribbean Marketplace 2005 will be headquartered at Half Moon Montego Bay, Jamaica. Previously held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cancun, Mexico, the 2005 event scheduled for Jan. 9 – 11, 2005, will mark the second time Caribbean Marketplace is held in Jamaica; the first time was in 1985 in Kingston. The venue is generating much anticipation among buyers and suppliers who look forward to attending Caribbean Marketplace again in Jamaica, which enjoys excellent air access, after almost 20 years said Sanguinetti.
A 50,000 square foot, air conditioned tent will be erected at Half Moon to accommodate the over 2000 buyer and supplier delegates this event is expected to attract. The 400-acre resort, which has the largest conference facilities in Montego Bay, will also accommodate additional meeting and business outlets during the three-day show, while other resorts in the Montego Bay area will provide additional accommodations and social events.
Caribbean Marketplace is recognized as the most important tourism marketing event of the year for the Caribbean region. It brings together Caribbean tourism suppliers from 36 Caribbean destinations to meet with qualified international buyers – wholesalers, incentive buyers, meeting planners, group buyers and dive shop owners – from around the world. Beyond networking, Caribbean Marketplace is above all business-making and sets the tone for travel packaging in the Caribbean. It provides indications on how the tourism season will go, what the trends will be, and how offer will meet demand.
Caribbean Marketplace 2004, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, brought together 815 supplier delegates and 397 international buyers, who scheduled a total of 10,120 business appointments. The event welcomed 13 new international buyer companies that had recently added the Caribbean region to their portfolio of vacation destinations.
International buyers are invited to attend Caribbean Marketplace based on their proven capability or potential to sell the Caribbean as a destination. The Caribbean Marketplace International Buyer Screening Committees, overseen by the Caribbean Hotel Association, qualify and approve the buyers.
Offering over 26,000 square feet of flexible indoor meeting space, Half Moon also hosted the 2004 Jamaica Product Exchange, Jamaica`s equivalent of Marketplace, in May and is set to host the Green Hotels Conference in July 2004 and the International Institute of Communicators Conference in October 2004.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
