Caribbean Travel Marketplace heads to Antigua for May 2025

Caribbean Travel Marketplace heads to Antigua for May 2025

Antigua and Barbuda is set to host the 43rd Caribbean Travel Marketplace scheduled for May 19-21, 2025 as tourism officials view the conference as another opportunity to market the twin-island state as a global tourism destination. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) premier tourism event is expected to attract between 1,500 to 2,000 delegates, according to CHTA CEO Vanessa Ledesma. The main venue for the conference will be the American University of Antigua (AUA) and will allow ‘tourism suppliers providers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with wholesalers from around the world, selling Caribbean vacation travel over the course of two days of business meetings’, according to the event website. CHTA President Sanovnik Destang noted that for most of the past 43 years, the marketplace had primarily rotated among destinations like Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cancun, and the Bahamas, but he further said that Antigua’s hosting will bring fresh energy to the conference. “While these destinations will continue to play a key role hosting Marketplace, a new destination always creates excitement and renewed energy. “We saw it last year in Barbados where we had a record number of buyers from the UK,” Destang said. Vanessa Ledesma, CEO of CHTA, revealed that the previous Marketplace in Jamaica saw record numbers, with 136 buyer companies from 25 markets and 206 supplier companies representing 27 Caribbean destinations. The event will feature several new components, including a Direct Booking Summit on May 22, focusing on digital marketing and technology partnerships with Triptease—an internet marketing service for hotels from England, along with the fourth Annual Caribbean Travel Forum on May 19 and a Responsible Tourism Day on May 18.

CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin James emphasized the destination’s readiness to maximize the event’s economic impact through its business and leisure strategy. “We want to encourage them to bring a significant other with them as well, so that will double the occupancy in the rooms in the hotel…we want them to come a few days early and that helps with the airlift,” James explained. The tourism authority also plans to incorporate local entrepreneurs and extend the successful Restaurant Week program during the Marketplace period. The conference comes as the government continues to grow the tourism product in sister isle Barbuda via the establishment of an airport capable of dealing with international airlines. Questioned about how the government plans to use the conference’s Responsible Tourism Day—where delegates will engage in activities that emphasize the need for environmentally sustainable, economically beneficial, and culturally respectful practices in the travel industry, Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez highlighted the country’s commitment to sustainability and local production. “We realize how important it is to keep our product safe. My commitment has always been to leave Antigua and Barbuda better than we met it,” Minister Fernandez said. CEO James also noted how the tourism authority was moving towards more local product offerings in its tourism packages as part of this sustainability push. The minister also revealed ongoing discussions with major airlines, including Qatar Airways and Emirates, with the latter indicating possible flights to Antigua as early as 2026. Craig Marshall, Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association, noted that the event aligns with the association’s focus on people development and linkages, emphasizing that “tourism is everyone’s business.” Registration for the Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2025 is expected to open in January, with one major international buyer reportedly already securing 50 rooms for the event. Source: Antigua Observer