CARIBBEAN TRAVEL MARKETPLACE ON THE CALENDAR FROM MAY 9-11 IN BARBADOS
Barbados Hotelier Gives a Thumbs Up to Caribbean Travel Marketplace
BARBADOS (Feb. 2023) – Hotelier and former president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism and Association (CHTA) Patricia Affonso-Dass is optimistic the 41st annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace, to be held in Barbados May 9-11, will be a defining moment for the travel trade. The Barbados-based hotelier, who runs Ocean Hotels Group, noted Caribbean Travel Marketplace has special significance this year because “it represents and showcases our region’s and association’s ability to transform, change and reinvent to meet the ever-changing needs, demands, and realities of this dynamic industry.” Registration for buyers is now open, suppliers will soon be able to register. For more information, visit www.chtamarketplace.com.
For the second time in its history, the travel trade event will be hosted in the Eastern Caribbean. Affonso-Dass noted that the new format of the event provides the opportunity for hoteliers and tourism stakeholders not only to connect with hospitality buyers and suppliers across the region but also to “highlight the link with artisans, manufacturing, agriculture and the smaller but critically important players that make up the fabric of Caribbean tourism.” Affonso-Dass, who served as CHTA president from 2018 to 2020, stated that the 33 Caribbean destinations comprising the association reflect different cultures, languages, cuisines, and a phenomenal collection of experiences.
“Caribbean Travel Marketplace allows us to bring this all together and showcase the region to our partners and the world in a way that is very difficult to do individually,” said Affonso-Dass, who was born in Dominica, raised in Guyana, and now lives in Barbados. “Each of our members is unique, special, and compelling, but altogether this region represents tremendous value and importance not just to our individual economies, but also to the revenues of the partners who sell the Caribbean – both land-based and cruise,” remarked the respected hotelier, as she invited the world to come and do business at Marketplace 41 in Barbados. Marketplace will be preceded by the second annual Caribbean Travel Forum and will be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. For more information, visit www.chtamarketplace.com.
About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean’s leading association representing the interests of national hotel and tourism associations. For more than 60 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working with some 1,000 hotel and allied members, and 33 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean’s future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether helping to navigate critical issues in sales and marketing, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, climate change, data, and intelligence or, looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on issues which matter most. For further information, visit www.
