During the 41st edition of CHTA Marketplace in Barbados, a delegation consisting of A.T.A. and AHATA was once again present representing Aruba. Local hotels and societies were also present at this annual event.
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Marketplace is the largest event in the tourism and hospitality industry for the Caribbean region, where tourism providers have the opportunity to meet, meet, or negotiate with existing or new partners.
This year a total of 25 countries are represented among suppliers such as hotels, transportation companies, activities and destinations, at the conference. On the other hand, there are shopping organizations, including tour operators and wholesalers present, representing 23 different countries. Tawata had a total of 800 members present with 9500 pre-registered appointments, so it was a highly successful event.
The Marketplace agenda for the Aruba team was extensive and they met with various partners from different markets already producing for Aruba, as well as potential new partners. Types of meetings
This gives different parties the opportunity to negotiate different aspects as well. During the meetings, they discussed, among other things, how 2023 is going, trends and plans for 2024 and how Aruba’s tourism compares to other destinations in the Caribbean.
The images show him meeting with Turks & Caicos Tourism Minister Josephine Connolly and Turks & Caicos Tourism Association CEO Stacy Cox, among others. He also met with Aaron Boyd, Regional Destination Marketing Manager- Americas at Hotelbeds.
Tourism is generally recovering, after seeing exponential growth post-pandemic. Aruba remains strong, also comparatively, despite the general trend indicating a high demand for travel to Europe from the American and Canadian markets. Some destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico face challenges including high crime rates that keep tourists away, but also see a huge expansion in the Caribbean and the Caribbean part of Mexico in hotel projects.
Aruba has continued to be recognized as one of the top post-pandemic recovery destinations and it is simply worth noting that Aruba has strategically taken the right steps to optimally and successfully benefit from the travel hunger during and after the pandemic, a temporary phenomenon. Tourism remains strong for Aruba, and will return to more normal trends after seeing the post-pandemic effect.
For A.T.A., AHATA and all local partners, it is extremely important to continue to maintain close relationships with partners who sell Aruba, and to create relationships with new partners.
