Jamaica to host Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2014

[Assasin]

Jamaica to host Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2014

2013-01-21 13:03:07 | (0 Comments)








Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

NASSAU, Bahamas:
Jamaica is to host the region's most important tourism industry trade show, Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2014.

This would be the fourth time the island will be the hosting the 31-year-old event.

First Vice President of the Jamaica Hotel Tourism Association (CHTA) press conference, at the Atlantis, Paradise Island, in The Bahamas this morning.

Madden-Greig said the multi-million dollar [Montego Bay Convention Centre in [Rose Hall will be the venue for the 2014 event.

"The convention centre has come into its own and having hosted the event two years ago we have no doubts this will be one of the best Caribbean Travel Marketplace ever," said Madden-Greig.

Her announcement was bolstered by Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Dr. Wykeham McNeill who noted that the trade showwould give Jamaica the opportunity to showcase a lot of the new developments on the island.

"Example: the opening of North Coast highway which will be a game changer in tourism, owing to its ability to link the two international airports," said McNeill.

Jamaica's announcement comes on the heels of reports from CHTA describing Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2013, which is now on at the Atlantis, as a tremendous success.

A large contingent of Jamaican hoteliers, ground handlers and attraction operators are among the 1,195 delegates in attendance at the two-day event.

Aside from the traditional supporters, for the first time, the event has attracted buyers from Belgium, France, Switzerland and Poland.

France has some 15 companies attending the event.

The other participating buyer nations, include, China, Russia, Spain, Sweden, USA, Canada, the UK, Argentina, Italy, Netherlands and Germany.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com

[Don1]

Her announcement was bolstered by Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Dr. Wykeham McNeill who noted that the trade showwould give Jamaica the opportunity to showcase a lot of the new developments on the island.

"Example: the opening of North Coast highway which will be a game changer in tourism, owing to its ability to link the two international airports," said McNeill.

What crap

[Assasin]

You notice the first step is to bring them here and sell the whole a Jamaica. If a di road Mcneil a focus on, him need to focus on the complete package. Most countries in the have some form of good road.

[Assasin]

How mi nuh see nuh road inna dis?

Carib group wants regional tourism summit

2013-01-21 14:29:22 | (0 Comments)








Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

NASSAU, Bahamas:
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism (CHTA), is calling for the Caribbean Heads of Government to convene, within the next six months, a regional summit on tourism.

The CHTA made the resolution at a Board of Directors meeting on Sunday, at the Caribbean Marketplace, now on at the Atlantis, Paradise Island, in The Bahamas.

Although, admitting that the region was the most tourism-dependent in the world, Caribbean heads over the years have been criticised for placing the industry on the back burner.

"If the Caribbean is to remain the world's leading warm-weather tourism destination, CHTA believes that Governments, the Caribbean TourismOrganisation (CTO), the leadership of the industry and the industry partners need to develop jointly and as a matter of urgency, a strategic approach that provides sustainable long term growth in the Caribbean tourism economy," said the CHTA in a media release Monday morning.

The CHTA made the call based on the unique capacity of the industry to increase employment, foreign exchange and investment and GDP at a time of economic uncertainty, in addition to the challenges that the tourism industry as a whole faces.

The organization wants the Heads of Government to tackle the burning issues of airlift, travel facilitation, marketing, visitor security, human resource development, the environment and new ways to encourage GDP growth through a common approach to the problems facing the industry.

"Such a summit would enable the Caribbean, as the most tourism dependent region in the world, to address global competition and return to the levels of success last seen in 2006," said the CHTA.

[Don1]

Why are you so simplistic in your comments?? Did I say infrastructure was the alpha and omega of tourism?? Nope.

I said the infrastructure upgrades were the biggest factors (of several) driving the recent massive tourism investments. The investors themselves stated this fact.

Also the biggest driver of tourism marketing that actually generates visitors is that done by hotels, airlines & shipping lines. They spend far more money than the JTB and their spend is not on JTB type branding messages (Come to Jamaica and fell alright etc) but on the promotion & sale of actual vacation & travel packages

The yappin done by Ministers of Tourism is necessary but entirely secondary

If yuh cyaan ovastan dat by now mi cyaan help yuh

[Assasin]

These hotels came and build upon what was already there. The industry was profitable and that is the only reason they came. They don’t add that much to tourism. hey give you more choice but the work of the ministry and JTB led by people such as Carol Guntley Brady can’t be discounted. Look at what the CHTA said the main trust is for airlift, marketing, service and getting to more buyers and into more markets. Roads are necessity and not attraction. Tell me when you see a guest full out a guest card and say “nice roads” and a nuh the Autobond

[Don1]

You are not able to grasp simple concepts sometimes...

I posted where the INVESTORS who added 10,000 + rooms stated what the prerequisites were that would enable their US$4B investment ....and it was infrastructure. And you want to argue hard numbers like that with your claptrap about this or that person yappin'?

No one is saying that mass Spanish tourism product is great or ideal....but YOU would celebrate that low value cruise BS at the same time?? Especially when it's mostly funded by taaxpayers??

Don't be dense yuteman

[Assasin]

How many guest houses closed. How many new clients did they bring to Jamaica? Where is the boom from spain that they promised?

[Don1]

Those questions are irrelevant to the point I made

The main driver for the recent massive investments was infrastructure upgrades...the investors who built the hotels stated this clearly

It is mainly those investments in rooms and their marketing by said investors (50% increase in room count in 8 years) that has enabled the industry to continue on a growth path during the recession....other factors such as ministers yappin and spending tax money on marketing are subsidiary

Without those investments it is undoubted that there would have been a downturn in tourism

End of story