Turks And Caicos Hotel And Tourism Association Continues To Promote The Turks and Caicos Islands
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Throughout the past couple months the Turks and Caicos Hotel & Tourism Association (TCHTA) has been actively promoting the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In June the Association arranged a sales blitz, including sales calls and evening receptions/presentations, with major Southeastern travel agencies in the United States. The cities targeted were Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina where presentations were made to market the TCI as a premier summer and winter destination. A number of hoteliers participated in the sales blitz and included Parrot Cay, Ocean Club Resorts, Seven Stars, The Somerset, Grace Bay Resorts, The Sands, Beaches, The Regent Grand and Royal West Indies. The TCI Tourist Board was also a supporter of the event, with its U.S. based agency representative, Pamela Ewing, participating in presentations and meeting with travel agents.
Caesar Campbell, CEO of the TCHTA, highlighted the Association’s success at the event and stated that about 150 travel agents were met in both cities. Campbell expressed that, “The travel agents were very excited to meet with our hoteliers and learn about the destination. Atlanta and Charlotte represent two major and important travel hubs for Delta and US Airways flights, respectively, into the Turks and Caicos. Therefore it is important to foster and maintain a good relationship with travel agents in those cities. Given the level of competition within the Caribbean tourism market sales blitz such as this one ensures that the Turks and Caicos Islands maintain a top position among travel agents.”
This recent sales blitz is one of a number of activities that the TCHTA has participated in with the overall goal of marketing and promoting the destination. In early June, hoteliers on island participated in the Tourist Board’s Turks and Caicos Conference (TACC), where travel agents and wholesalers participated in hotel site visits, and special tours on island. The four day event gave travel agents and wholesalers a first hand view of what the TCI has to offer.
In May the Association participated in the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE) leadership conference in Puerto Rico. The TCHTA was one of 21 regional organisations that met with the goal of coming together to develop strategies for successful association programmes, strategies to improve government relations and member benefits. Caesar Campbell noted that, “Acknowledging that all 21 destinations are experiencing similar industry challenges, we decided to band together to strengthen our impact and discussed ways to address budget challenges without compromising our services as well as ways to develop a dedicated private sector leadership.”
(Left – Right): Dawn Bolte, Beaches Resort & Spa; O’Brien Forbes, Seven Stars; Carol Sage, The Sands Resort; Scott Hagan, The Somerset Resort, Michele, Royal West Indies; Pamela Ewing, Tourist Board, Angella, Grace Bay Resorts; Laurie Gluck, Travel Industry Association of Georgia; Julia Maximo, Ocean Club Resorts; Caesar Campbell, TCHTA; and Megan Hussey, The Regent Grand/Villa Renaissance.
The Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association continues throughout the year to develop and participate in events that will be beneficial to the Turks and Caicos Tourism Product. Upcoming activities include the Travel Agent Escape Weekend in mid July, which caters to travel agents and offers these decision makers an opportunity to experience the islands and resorts, and gain an understanding of why the TCI is a destination to experience.
