Above: Antigua (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A group of 20 of WestJet Vacations’ Canada-based travel agents recently visited Antigua and Barbuda on a familiarization trip.

WestJet Vacations is the vacation subsidiary of Canada-based air carrier WestJet, which announced last month that it would be launching twice-weekly service from Toronto to Antigua.

That is adding a total of 7,000 seats to the Toronto-Antigua market this season.

“The work has begun to ensure that we capitalize on this new service aiming to attain maximum capacity on this route,” said Colin James, CEO of the ABTA. “We see WestJet Vacations and their partner hotels as partners in achieving this goal, so we continue to work together co-coordinating our marketing efforts and activities to drive sales and tourist arrivals to the destination.”

The four-day trip was part of a collaborative effort between the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, WestJet Vacations and the Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association.

The visit included site inspections of eight WestJet Vacations partner hotels, resort dinners and island excursions.

The visiting agents will sell vacations across the operations of West Jet, which covers the west and east coasts of Canada.

“It is only through getting to know a product that persons can truly make a compelling sales pitch about it,” said Erica Henry-Jackman, director of tourism of the ABTA in Canada. “Trips of this nature, along with consistent travel agent training sessions in Canada, help to ensure agents are kept up to date with the Antigua and Barbuda tourism product.”