Armed with great expectations and following a 5.4 percent increase in tourist arrivals in 2012, the Caribbean Tourism Organization held the 14th edition of the Sustainable Tourism Conference in Trinidad and Tobago. CTO’s Secretary General Hugh Riley sat down with Caribbean News Digital and talked about a number of issues in this exclusive interview.
Girona, capital of the Spanish province in Catalonia, has great historic, artistic and cultural heritage and over the past century it has held a one-of-a-kind festival: Temps de Flors, at one of the best-preserved ancient Jewish neighborhoods in Europe, a must-see place for numerous tourists, especially American visitors. Tourism and Trade Councilwoman for Girona City Hall, Corali Cunyat i Badosa, spoke exclusively with Caribbean News Digital.
Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition, MITT, which held its 20th edition a few weeks ago, gathered for the first time ever tourism ministry and industry stakeholders from the Caribbean, North America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and East Asia. The success of that summit, the push of the Russian market, the increasing attendance of South American nations to the fair and the popularity of the Caribbean travel destinations were some of the topics addressed by Maria Badakh, MITT chief of Sales and International Affairs, in an exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital.
Jamaica is increasingly becoming a sought-after travel destination for Russian sunbathers willing to have a good Caribbean experience. Patricia Samuels, chief of the Jamaica Tourism Office for Europe –the office is headquartered in Germany- told CND about the steps the island nation is taking in terms of promotion and fair attendance, airlift and new facilities for Russian travelers.
Airlift from source markets has become a must for destinations in order to get the most of business in the cruise industry. Besides airlift, labeled as “inadequate and too expensive” by regional tourism leaders, the economic crisis and taxes, such as the UK’s Air Passenger Duty, have also been challenging the Caribbean travel industry in the last few years. However, the region has remained very competitive, says Carol Hay, Marketing Director for Europe and the United Kingdom, who talked to CND about other issues, like sustainable tourism and attendance to European travel shows.
Airlift from source markets has become a must for destinations in order to get the most of business in the cruise industry. Besides airlift, labeled as “inadequate and too expensive” by regional tourism leaders, the economic crisis and taxes, such as the UK’s Air Passenger Duty, have also been challenging the Caribbean travel industry in the last few years. However, the region has remained very competitive, says Carol Hay, Marketing Director for Europe and the United Kingdom, who talked to CND about other issues, like sustainable tourism and attendance to European travel shows.