MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – Hosted in Montego Bay from January 16 – 18, 2011, Caribbean Marketplace saw a marked increase in the number of delegates in attendance, with a total of 1,518. (There were 1,362 attendees in 2010.) The event wrapped up with a Jamaican party featuring cuisine from some of the island’s top hotels, along with stellar performances from ska, calypso and soca band, Byron Lee’s Dragonaires, and reggae performers Tarrus Riley and Etana.
Caribbean Marketplace, recognized as the region’s premier travel and tourism business convention, was the first major event held at Jamaica’s newly constructed Montego Bay Convention Centre. The 2011 event saw a record number of ministers and commissioners of tourism in attendance, plus an increase in buyer registration from new wholesalers in Russia, Canada, the U.S. and the U.K, as well as an increased number of scheduled appointments between buyers and suppliers. These totaled 11,880, compared with 11,774 in 2010.
“We’re honored to have hosted another staging of Caribbean Marketplace. This was an ideal platform for A-list buyers who book the Caribbean to experience Jamaica’s thriving tourism product,” said John Lynch, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism. “We’re proud that the Montego Bay Convention Centre was completed in time to host this successful event. This new facility underscores Jamaica’s ability to host major events of this caliber.”
At a Jamaica Tourist Board media breakfast hosted by Half Moon, A RockResort, Jamaica’s tourism officials revealed that preliminary estimates for visitor arrivals between January 1 and 15, 2011, were up by almost 14 percent, making this the best-ever year to date for that period. Jamaica also experienced a 4.7-percent increase in visitors in 2010, compared with 2009. This increase was fueled by a 5.8-percent growth in the U.S. market, and a 7-percent increase in the Canadian market last year, both contributing to a 3.2-percent increase in tourism earnings.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Hon. Bruce Golding announced that the Montego Bay Convention Centre will host the upcoming Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) May 10 – 12, 2011. The Convention Centre provides in excess of 50,000 square feet of exhibition space, over 20,000 square feet of banquet space, and more than 11,000 square feet of meeting space.
