Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez attends Caribbean Travel Marketplace business meetings in Barbados

St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda: Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transportation and Investment of Antigua and Barbuda Charles Fernandez has joined Caribbean tourism leaders in Barbados for the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association’s (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace business meetings starting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center, Barbados from May 10, 2023, according to the update shared by Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Live.

The update further informed that a day earlier, the minister attended the CHTA’s Caribbean Travel Forum, a new event that focuses on the business of tourism in the Caribbean with specific topics such as multi-destination marketing, intra-Caribbean travel with an emphasis on air connectivity, sustainability, technology innovation, labour market, taxation and linkages.

As per Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Live, in a State of the Industry and Region Address delivered at the forum, CHTA President, Nicola Madden-Greig, provided a recap on Caribbean Tourism and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Caribbean Tourism Industry.

Caribbean tourism leaders in Barbados for the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Association’s (CHTA)...

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“Travel continues to rise across the globe. The Caribbean as a region is the fastest recovering region in the world as far as tourism is concerned. I really think we deserve a round of applause. It has been the effort of our many, many, public sector leaders, our prime ministers, our ministers of tourism and also the private sector and the ministries of health and the CMOs that have got us here,” the CHTA President was quoted saying.

The event was also attended by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley. During her keynote address, she inspired those at the forum with an investment and a shared interest in the region and its development to be “Be shapers, not takers”, a phrase that reverberated throughout other speaker presentations during the day.

ABTL further stated that other Discussion topics included: Responsible and Resilience Tourism as well as Technology and its impact on Caribbean tourism.

Following the forum, Minister Fernandez indicated that “As Antigua and Barbuda moves to surpass our 2019 tourism arrivals, we are forging ahead with a vision for our country’s tourism industry that includes continued sustainable tourism development that will provide opportunities for more local businesses and allow those employed locally to reap more benefits from the tourism industry.”

Antigua and Barbuda Directors of Tourism from the USA, UK & Europe, Caribbean and Canada have also travelled to Barbados to attend the commencement of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace.