St. Kitts tourism has kicked off the new year on a
positive note at this year’s Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)
Caribbean Marketplace, which took place at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau,
Bahamas from January 22-24, 2012.
Demonstrating measureable advancement in the development and promotion of the
island’s tourism brand, the St. Kitts delegation was able to spread the message
that St. Kitts is a “must” for discerning leisure travellers in 2012 and
beyond.
“CHTA Caribbean Marketplace continues to be a key industry event for us each
year,” said Mrs. Rosecita Jeffers, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
“We had the opportunity to meet with several of our travel partners and network
with top media operators and other colleagues, all of whom expressed keen
interest in the progress that St. Kitts has been making and gave us reason to
have an optimistic outlook for the productivity of our various tour operators’
marketing programmes.”
A key objective of St. Kitts’ participation in CHTA Marketplace was to meet
with tour operators and wholesalers who directly book hotel rooms and to add
new tour operator programmes.
Tour operators were updated on the new Destination Specialist program, which
St. Kitts debuted on January 9, 2012. The delegation from St. Kitts also
updated operators on news from the island, such as the private jet terminal,
and various other projects.
In total, the St. Kitts delegation held a total of 36 meetings over the two
days allocated to these functions during the event. Among the operators meeting
with St. Kitts were Travel Impressions, Classic Vacations, TNT Vacations and
Costco Travel.
In addition to the meetings, the St. Kitts delegation participated in
“Preferred Partner Receptions” hosted by Expedia, Classic Vacations and Flight
Centre (GOGO).
In keeping with the growing influence of online and social media, St. Kitts
continues to direct more efforts to these marketing channels. This year, St.
Kitts interacted with CHTA, various journalists and other event attendees by
tweeting from its official Tourism Authority account.
The St. Kitts Tourism Authority said this year, the delegation from St. Kitts
that attended CHTA Marketplace was comprised of: Sen. the Hon. Richard “Ricky”
Skerritt, Minister of Tourism and International Transport; Mrs. Rosecita
Jeffers, CEO of |