The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has revealed that registration for Caribbean Marketplace is up 48% compared to the previous year, reflecting a continued surge in interest in the Caribbean as a top holiday destination.

To date, there are 343 delegates representing 153 companies already registered for Caribbean Marketplace, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Registrations have been received from the following countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Barths, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Martin, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, United States and United States Virgin Islands.

“The numbers we are seeing for Caribbean Marketplace support the fact that interest in Caribbean vacations is on the rise,” said Josef Forstmayr, president of CHTA. “The industry recognizes that for the past 30 years, Caribbean Marketplace has allowed tour operators, hoteliers, attractions and restaurants to position their companies ahead of their peers by proactively participating in the industry’s most important marketing event.”

Forstmayr continued, “The demand for Caribbean vacations from across the globe is on the rise and these companies who have registered for Caribbean Marketplace know the importance of attending this two-day event. The business that is conducted at Caribbean Marketplace will shape bookings for 2012 and into 2013.”

Caribbean Marketplace 2012 will be held at the Atlantis, Paradise Island Jan 22-24, 2012 and presented by CHTA, The Islands Of The Bahamas, MasterCard and Virgin Holidays. Caribbean Marketplace is the requisite business-to-business marketing event for the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry.

At Caribbean Marketplace, hoteliers meet, network, negotiate and conduct business with buyers from around the world.

CHTA anticipates that the 2012 edition of the event will continue the successes achieved at Caribbean Marketplace 2011, which saw the third largest attendance over the past decade, with 1,518 delegates as compared to 1,362 in 2010 and an increase in the number of buyer companies by 20% and buyer delegates by 17%, up from 101 and 268 respectively in 2010. The number of scheduled appointments totalled 11,880 over the two-day event in 2011.

World Travel Awards fever comes to Jamaica

Also in the Caribbean, this week will see a distinguished line-up of travel industry professionals and media from 60 countries gather at the luxurious Sandals Private Island in Montego Bay to find out who will triumph at the World Travel Awards Caribbean & The Americas Gala Ceremony.

The Caribbean & The Americas Gala Ceremony marks the fifth and final leg of World Travel Awards 2011 Grand Tour, and follows heats in Dubai, UAE; Antalya, Turkey; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; and Bangkok, Thailand.

Regional winners from these events then progress to the Grand Final later in the year.

The event partners are Sandals Resorts, BBC World News and WeClickMedia, while media partners include National Geographic Traveller, eTurboNews, Focus on Travel News, Breaking Travel News, JaxFax and Travel Daily News.

For more info about World Travel Awards 2011 Caribbean & the Americas Ceremony on October 19th & bookings visit http://www.worldtravelawards.com/americas2011 

To find out what else is happening in Jamaica and Montego Bay, why not visit Jamaica.Mobi or Montegobay.Mobi.