JIS – The Travel Agents’ Fly-in Blitz, targeting some 450 travel agents from the United States to be brought into the island over three weekends, for familiarization tours of the island’s tourism product offerings, has been going well.
This according to Regional Director of the JTB, Clive Taffy. With the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and several tour operators collaborating in this effort, he said it was hoped that these visits would result in increased tourist arrivals for the upcoming winter season and beyond.
The first batch of 75 travel agents to arrive did so over the weekend of September 16 and more than 200 are expected for the weekend of September 23, and more on the following weekend.
The Regional Director told JIS News that the program would be continued over a two-month period, and should also see travel agents from Europe and Japan visiting the island.
“The expectations are great, many of them have been here before and they are basically coming here to have a new look at what is being offered on the island. So we look forward to a tremendous winter season, even better than what we had last year, we certainly have a lot more new rooms coming on stream, new air seats by way of some of the existing airline and new airlines coming into Jamaica,” he said.
Mr. Taffe explained that the travel agents would be taken to several hotel properties and attractions across the island. Whereas Montego Bay was the focus for the fly-in that of September 16, the remaining weekend fly-ins will concentrate on the towns of Negril and Ocho Rios.
He informed that apart from showing off properties and attractions on the North Coast, establishments on the South Coast, Port Antonio and Kingston would also be visited over time.
