Tourism Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Arrives in San Juan for Caribbean Marketplace 2006

Officials in the Ministry of Tourism of Antigua & Barbuda have a packed agenda over the next two weeks as tourism administrators move to formulate and consolidate plans for Antigua & Barbuda’s tourism industry in 2006 and beyond.

Acting Director-General of Tourism Lorraine Headley arrived Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and said she and other tourism officials will be meeting with the Commonwealth Secretariat for preliminary discussions on the creation of a Tourism Master Plan. Once completed, the master plan will lay out the way forward for the industry over the next decade.

Also participating in the meetings are non-governmental tourism partners including representatives from different hotels.

“What we’re trying to do is move forward in partnership with stakeholders. We think that is very important.” Headley explained.

Caribbean Marketplace is generally viewed as an important opportunity to meet and network with tourism partners throughout the region, as well as with international buyers and suppliers of tourism goods and services.

Marketing continues to be an area of focus for Headley, who said she expects to have meetings with Caribbean Tourism Organization representatives on Tuesday. According to Headley, these meetings will help to lay the groundwork for a meeting of the various overseas tourism offices early in February.

“What we are trying to do is co-ordinate the activities of the various offices,” Headley said, adding that although what works for one market it may not work for the others. She would like to see the offices working more closely with each other so that one complements the other.