Experts to Address Faith Tourism at Puerto Rico’s CMEx Meeting Next Month

Speaking ahead of Counterpart International’s 12th Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) -to be held on the island of Puerto Rico from May 15 to 19, 2008- former CNN News Anchor Andria Hall, a Christian author and producer of women’s conferences in the Caribbean, said “whether its conferences, crusades, retreats or a girlfriend’s getaway, a strong faith tourism strategy is both urgent and prudent for the Caribbean region at such a time as this.”

The radio and television personality, who is the author of “The Walk at Work: Seven Steps to Spiritual Success on the Job,” congratulated the Jamaican government for its recent plans to position the island as a faith tourism destination, a move which she believes will bless the nation abundantly.

The religious tourism and hospitality market has an estimated value of $18 billion and includes 300 million annual travelers. “We are beginning to understand the dynamics of that marketplace and the power of religious tourism across the globe. (It) is a huge market sector that remains essentially untapped by Jamaica,” said Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett who recently disclosed that a new 5,000 capacity convention is expected to be unveiled in 2009 large enough to facilitate conventions
hosted by faith-based groups.

A recent survey on women travelers in the United States shows that girlfriend getaways are becoming more popular as women escape their personal and professional lives for stress relieving sojourns –or what others describe as “spiritual centering”.

At CMEx in San Juan, reporters, editors, young people, and marketing and development specialists will interact over four days with representatives of the hospitality sector, civil society and government to explore the theme “Embracing the Diaspora, Connecting Communities.” Key is examining how tourism, including the faith tourism market, can improve the health, wealth, environment and culture of destinations.