By Alexander Britell
The Caribbean’s biggest travel conference is set for San Juan.
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference is being held next week at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan.
In what is a major boost for Puerto Rico’s recovering tourism industry, the international summit will be held from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, putting the spotlight on the city of San Juan.
Registration is strong for the event, according to CHTA officials, with the event on track to eclipse the 1,000 delegate mark before the start of Marketplace.
“This speaks not only to the resilience of the Caribbean’s bread and butter tourism industry, but also to the fortitude of the Caribbean’s people,” said Frank Comito, director general of the CHTA.
The conference, the region’s largest and most influential travel conference, brings together tour operators, online travel agents and meetings and incentive planners with Caribbean hotels, tour companies and tourism departments for thousands of pre-scheduled appointments.
Close to 500 supplier delegates from more than 200 companies across 30 countries will join, along with more than 100 media representatives.
More than 200 delegates from close to 100 buyer companies (including 19 new companies) have registered.
Buyer companies hail from Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay.
“It is remarkable what the good people at the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Meet Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association have been able to accomplish as they prepare to welcome this marquee event to their island,” Comito said.
