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| Caribbean Travel Marketplace | |
|---|---|
| Name | Caribbean Travel Marketplace |
| Type | Trade show |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Headquarters | Barbados |
| Region served | Caribbean Basin |
Caribbean Travel Marketplace is an annual tourism trade show and business-to-business forum that brings together hotel brands, airlines, cruise lines, tourism boards, travel agents, and hospitality suppliers from across the Caribbean and North America. It serves as a meeting point for industry stakeholders from islands such as Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Antigua and Barbuda, while attracting delegates from United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The event emphasizes networking, sales, marketing, and destination promotion, with participation by organizations including national tourism offices, international carriers, and regional associations.
Caribbean Travel Marketplace functions as a marketplace for private-sector entities like Sandals Resorts, Bermuda Tourism Authority, Riu Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels Corporation to meet trade buyers from corporations such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Group, and MSC Cruises. Buyers include travel agencies affiliated with networks such as Virtuoso, American Society of Travel Advisors, Global Hotel Alliance, and Travel Leaders Group. The forum incorporates panels with representatives from institutions like Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, United Nations World Tourism Organization, World Travel & Tourism Council, and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Exhibitors range from destination marketing organizations like Jamaica Tourist Board and Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority to wholesalers such as Apple Leisure Group and Flight Centre Travel Group.
The marketplace emerged during a period of expanding air connectivity alongside initiatives by entities such as Pan American World Airways, British Airways, LIAT, and Caribbean Airlines that increased intra-regional travel. Early editions were influenced by regional conferences like Caribbean Tourism Organization meetings and by promotional campaigns led by figures such as Errol Barrow and institutions like Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.. Over decades the event evolved in scale and scope, responding to external shocks exemplified by the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters including Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Dorian, which shifted discussions toward resilience, recovery, and crisis management. The marketplace has featured collaborations with development programs from United Nations Development Programme, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, and private equity investors active in hospitality like Baring Private Equity Asia.
Services offered include one-on-one appointment systems patterned after trade formats used by World Travel Mart and IMEX Group, educational workshops led by consultants from McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, and Ernst & Young, and sales missions organized with carriers such as JetBlue Airways and WestJet. Training sessions often involve curriculum elements from institutions like University of the West Indies, Florida International University, and certification providers such as Cruise Lines International Association. Marketing support is provided via partnerships with media houses including Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveller (UK), and trade publications like Caribbean Journal and Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association newsletters. Technology showcases highlight platforms developed by firms such as Sabre Corporation, Amadeus IT Group, Expedia Group, and Booking.com.
Program formats incorporate keynote addresses by leaders from entities such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and United Nations World Tourism Organization alongside breakout sessions featuring CEOs from Sandals Resorts, Breeze Airways, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and executives from regional organizations like Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and Caribbean Tourism Organization. Parallel events have included national product launches by Ministry of Tourism (Jamaica), investment panels with representatives from ExxonMobil-related energy dialogues impacting islands, and sustainability roundtables featuring NGOs like Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and Rainforest Alliance. Social functions often include receptions hosted by embassies such as the Embassy of Canada, British High Commission (Barbados), and consular delegations from Mexico and Brazil.
The marketplace contributes to commercial agreements between hotel chains like IHG Hotels & Resorts and tour operators including TUI Group and Thomas Cook Group (historical), as well as fostering air service development with carriers such as Southwest Airlines exploring new routes. It acts as a platform for public-private initiatives involving multilateral lenders like Caribbean Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and investment vehicles such as Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund-style structures adapted regionally. Outcomes have included increased bookings for resorts in Aruba, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, and promotional campaigns coordinated with cultural events like Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago and Crop Over Festival. The forum also informs policy dialogues involving regional institutions such as Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and economic blocs like CARICOM.
Governance typically involves steering committees drawing membership from national tourism boards (for example Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., Turks and Caicos Tourist Board), industry associations such as Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and Cruise Lines International Association, and private-sector sponsors including Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and hospitality investors like HVS Global Hospitality Services. Partnerships extend to international bodies such as United Nations World Tourism Organization, Inter-American Development Bank, and donor agencies including USAID and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Event logistics often coordinate with local authorities including port corporations like Port Authority of Jamaica and airport operators such as Grantley Adams International Airport management.
Critiques have centered on issues raised by scholars and activists associated with institutions like University of the West Indies and NGOs such as Oxfam regarding the distributional benefits of tourism-led development, the role of multinational corporations including Airbnb, Inc. and large hotel chains in driving property price inflation, and environmental concerns flagged by Greenpeace and regional marine scientists from CERMES (UWI). Debates have referenced case studies from Puerto Rico and Dominica about resilience financing, controversies over labor conditions reported in relation to resorts and cruise operations investigated by unions like Caribbean Congress of Labour and UNI Global Union, and discussions on tax incentives involving fiscal policies examined by think tanks like Centre for Policy Dialogue (Jamaica). Concerns about overtourism, waste management, reef degradation affecting sites such as Buck Island Reef National Monument and Bocas del Toro have prompted sustainability commitments but also scrutiny from conservation NGOs.