Half Moon Montego Bay to Host the 2005 Caribbean Marketplace
The Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) agreed to hold the 2005 Caribbean Marketplace in Jamaica’s Half Moon Montego Bay Resort from January 5 to 11 next year. This is the first time since 1985 that Jamaica will play host to the region’s major business gathering.
“The designation of the host country is generating great expectations among purchasers and suppliers from the industry that were anticipating their return to Jamaica after nearly twenty years,” said Alec Sanguinetti, director-general and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel Association.
The Caribbean Marketplace is penciled in as the region’s number-one annual travel meeting, bringing together suppliers from as many as 36 different destinations and highly qualified international purchasers (wholesaler, incentive buyers, congress planners and others) from around the world.
Above all, the Caribbean Marketplace is about business and sets the tone of the region’s travel offer for the rest of the year. The event also maps out guidelines about the development of future tourist seasons, which trends to watch and how offer will meet demand.
The 2004 Caribbean Marketplace, held in Puerto Rico’s San Juan, drew 815 delegates and 397 international purchasers that made a grand total of 10,120 business appointments. Last year’s marketplace welcomed aboard a baker’s dozen new purchasing companies that had recently added the Caribbean region to their travel portfolios.
A semi-permanent, air-conditioned structure of 50,000 square feet will be built next to the Half Moon’s facilities to accommodate the 2,000-plus delegates expected to attend next year’s tradeshow.
