The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has announced the eagerly anticipated Caribbean Marketplace 2011 will be held at the all new Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Speaking at a press conference earlier today in Kingston, Jamaica, representatives confirmed the event - the requisite business-to-business conference for the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry – will take place at the Jamaican venue from January 16th-18th 2011.

“We believe Caribbean Marketplace 2011 will be even stronger as tourism officials, hoteliers and tour operators gather to plan the recovery of tourism to our region,” said Enrique De Marchena Kaluche, CHTA president.

“Unlike many events, where participation decreases during tough times, we need Caribbean Marketplace now more than ever before. The less than optimal state of our industry should actually have a positive effect on attendance for Caribbean Marketplace,” he added.

This year’s event will be presented by CHTA, Jamaica Tourist Board and World Travel Group.

Montego Bay Convention Centre

Caribbean Marketplace 2011

CHTA anticipates Caribbean Marketplace 2011 will achieve similar success to recent conferences and expects an even larger turnout for 2011. 

In 2010 there were 1,362 delegates - just ten per cent off of the recent high of 1,521 attendees in 2009 - as well as over 400 booths, 190 buyer delegates and 378 supplier delegates. 

“For our hoteliers, we rely on the support of our tour operators in order to capture the largest possible share of the market. At the same time, the tour operators need to engage our hotels with lucrative contracts that will help us all profit during these tough times,” added Mr De Marchena.

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) seeks to facilitate the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members’ needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. 

“At the end of the day, the business we receive during this difficult period will be determined by our willingness to work with each other to maximise our marketing of the region. 
“Caribbean Marketplace is all about how we can market the Caribbean, both together and independently,” added Mr De Marchena.

Today, tourism is widely recognised as a pivotal industry in the economy of the Caribbean – with CHTA functioning as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions.

CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 725 member hotels and 525 allied members.

“The crucial piece of the success puzzle is the marketing of the product from the individual hotels, to the countries and to the region.  It is a monumental task for a small hotel in Jamaica or anywhere in the Caribbean to promote itself to the world.

“Promotion of the Caribbean as a region is paramount to what we must first achieve. 

“We need to ensure that the potential visitors know and appreciate that the Caribbean is the leading warm weather destination in the world.  Once that is done, individual destinations such as Jamaica need to find their niche and stand out from our small crowd of islands and nations in the region,” Mr De Marchena concluded.