THE CARIBBEAN (Dec., 2012) - Providing a behind the scenes look at Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the region's biggest tourism marketing event, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has released in-depth details about the buyers and suppliers who participated in the 2012 event.  Buyer registration for Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2013 is currently highlighted by 16 tour operators from France hosted by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board as well as buyers from four new countries including Belgium, Ireland, Poland and Switzerland.  The event is taking place Jan. 20-22, 2013 at the Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Caribbean Travel Marketplace affords hotels and destinations of all sizes the opportunity to meet face-to-face with wholesalers selling Caribbean vacation travelover the course of two days of business meetings.  The registration deadline to request appointments during the event has been extended to Jan. 3, 2013 and can be requested by registered event delegates by logging in here.

Themed "All Tourism, All Caribbean, All Business," the 2012 event had over 20 countries from major markets represented by tour operators/wholesalers, 32 Caribbean countries represented and 12,250 pre-scheduled 20-minute appointments, up from 11,880 appointments in 2011.  Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2012 also saw a 17% increase in buyer companies with 142 in attendance, 11 of which were from Russia, as well as an increase in buyer delegates which totaled 344 versus 314 in 2011.

Buyer companies that were in attendance at the 2012 event responded to marketing questions by CHTA that they were interested in conducting business with properties that had the following types of accommodations:

• Resort - 111 buyers
• All Inclusive - 108 buyers
• Small Hotel (Under 100 rooms) - 104 buyers
• Medium Hotels (under 300 rooms) - 103 buyers
• Beachfront Property - 103 buyers
• Oceanview - 93 buyers
• Large Hotels (300+ rooms) - 90 buyers
• Villas - 78 buyers
• Cottages - 57 buyers
• Ecotourism Property - 50 buyers
• Condominium - 43 buyers
• Business Hotel - 33 buyers

Buyer companies identified themselves as the following type of business:

• Tour Operator - 80 buyers
• Individual Travelers - 62 buyers
• Wholesaler - 61 buyers
• Internet - 53 buyers
• Small/Medium Groups - 47 buyers
• Leisure Groups - 43 buyers
• Large Groups (Over 250) - 19 buyers
• Student Groups - 18 buyers
• Incentive Buyer - 15 buyers
• Retail Agent Handling Groups - 13 buyers
• Senior Groups - 13 buyers
• Charter Operator - 12 buyers
• Travel Club - 11 buyers
• Ecotourism - 10 buyers
• Meeting Planner - 9 buyers
• Association - 3 buyers

Buyer companies identified themselves as selling products by the following price points

• Deluxe - 90 buyers
• Luxury - 85 buyers
• Moderate - 85 buyers
• Economy - 45 buyers

Buyer companies identified the following countries as the top destinations that sell:

• Jamaica - 115 buyers
• Bahamas - 113 buyers
• Cancun - 102 buyers
• Dominican Republic - 102 buyers
• St. Lucia - 102 buyers
• Turks & Caicos Islands 96
• Barbados 95
• Aruba 92
• Antigua & Barbuda 90
• Puerto Rico 85
• Cayman Islands 82
• US Virgin Islands 82
• St. Kitts & Nevis 81
• St. Martin 81
• Bermuda 78
• British Virgin Islands 78
• Cozumel 78
• Grenada 74
• St. Maarten, Saba 74
• St. Vincent & the Grenadines 74
• Curacao 71
• Tobago 68
• Anguilla 63
• St. Barthelemy 57
• Bonaire 54
• Martinique 53
• Trinidad 53
• Belize 47
• Dominica 40
• Guadeloupe 38
• Guyana 18
• Suriname 18
• Haiti 16

At Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2012, there were 274 supplier companies and 25 tourist and promotion boards.  The supplier companies classified their type of accommodations as follows:

• Resort - 163 suppliers
• Small Hotel (Under 100 rooms) - 115 suppliers
• Spa - 110 suppliers
• Medium Hotel (under 300 rooms) - 86 suppliers
• All Inclusive - 83 suppliers
• Villas - 72 suppliers
• Large Hotel (300+ rooms) - 56 suppliers
• Business Hotel - 51 suppliers
• Condominium - 30 suppliers
• Ecotourism Property - 28 suppliers
• Cottage - 27 suppliers
• Timeshare - 13 suppliers

Suppliers indicated that their property's location can be identified as follows:

• Beachfront - 167 suppliers
• Oceanview - 92 suppliers
• Close to Airport - 67 suppliers
• Waterfront - 53 suppliers
• Town - 30 suppliers
• Mountains - 14 suppliers
• Rainforest - 11 suppliers

Registration
CHTA has arranged for special hotel rates for Caribbean Travel Marketplace delegates at the Atlantis, Paradise Island. The deadline for special hotel rates is Dec. 21, 2012 (based on space availability).  For a complete list of hotel rates and reservation procedures, visit: http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com/events-mp/event-MP-where.php and click on the "Where" tab.

For more information or to register, contact CHTA at 305-443-3040 or e-mail: [email protected].
 
Conference Organizers & Sponsors
In addition to CHTA, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association and the Nassau/Paradise Island Promotion Board, sponsors of Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2013 include: host sponsors MasterCard and Virgin Holidays as well as Best Western International, Brides, Caribbean Travel + Life, Condé Nast Traveler, Exposure4 Video Production, Henkell & Co., Interval International, Starwood Caribbean Collection, STR (Smith Travel Research Inc.), The Knot Wedding Network, The New York Times, Travelzoo, Trip Advisor, World Travel Group and Utell - Pegasus as well as American Airlines as a supporter of the event.

Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members' needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner.  Celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2012, CHTA is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region - and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshaling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 600 member hotels and over 300 allied members.