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On the heels of another record-breaking year with total arrivals exceeding 4.3 million visitors, the Jamaica Tourist Board is celebrating the successful conclusion of the annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace.

Produced by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, in collaboration with co-hosts the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association, the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, the event took place at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

This was the fifth time Jamaica had hosted the event, welcoming 576 supplier delegates from 147 companies.

“As the host destination, we could not be more delighted by the tremendous success of this year’s CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace,” said Donovan White, Jamaica director of tourism.

“We are proud to celebrate the achievement of new milestones alongside our partners.

“It was a privilege to welcome so many industry professionals, particularly the new buyers, for a week of networking to cultivate new ways to showcase tourism in the Caribbean.”

Highlights of this year’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace include the first-ever contingent of Chinese travel buyers to attend, as well as 60 new buyer companies from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Also on the agenda were the opening of the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre in Jamaica, the importance of cultural tourism to the destination and the role of small- and medium-sized businesses in the development of the hospitality sector.

President of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, Patricia Affonso-Dass, was also present to urge a renewed focus on tourism across the region.

Jamaica also welcomed the opening of the S Hotel during the festivities, as well as hosting the World Travel Awards Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony 2019 where the island paradise was honoured with the title of Caribbean’s Leading Destination.

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Now on its 37th year, Caribbean Travel Marketplace is the leading event in tourism where delegates from Caribbean countries meet with buyers from around the world.

It is the largest business-to-business tourism show and provides unprecedented networking opportunities for local industry stakeholders, as well as the ability for Jamaica to showcase the destination to the attending delegates.

Source: breakingtravelnews.com