Building on its past successes, the upcoming Caribbean Travel Marketplace is set to feature new additions and three dedicated tracks when it is held in Jamaica from May 20-23.

The 42nd edition of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, organised by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), will be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Jamaica from May 20-23.

In a press statement, CHTA says that this edition will feature new additions and three dedicated tracks for an even more dynamic and engaging experience for attendees.

It adds that the Caribbean Travel Marketplace will have the Caribbean Travel Forum on May 20, focusing on Visioning a New Tourism Landscape for the Caribbean honouring the ‘Caribbean Hotelier of the Year’ and present ‘Destination Resilience’ honours and the President’s Award for Excellence in Caribbean Tourism.

“This year we will be taking the event to a new level with three distinct tracks, the business of tourism in the form of the Caribbean Travel Forum, the marketing of tourism with CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace and the community of tourism through with our first ever Responsible Tourism Day,” says CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig.

The statement adds that the Responsible Tourism Day, which will coincide with Jamaica’s Labour Day on May 23, will include a focus on addressing climate change, sustainable development, and agricultural linkages to emphasise responsible stewardship of tourism communities.

Madden-Greig also highlights the introduction of a dedicated Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) itinerary for the first time, with 20 meeting planners attending the inaugural Caribbean MICE Exchange. She emphasises the significant potential of the MICE market, which generated over USD 900 billion globally in 2023 and is expected to double by 2032. “It is time for the Caribbean to focus on getting a bigger slice of that very significant pie,” she says.

Madden-Greig says that 150 buyer companies are expected to attend Marketplace with significant interest from Asia, Europe, and Latin America. To date, 86 buyer companies have registered, surpassing the number from last year’s event by more than double at this stage. Among these are 14 new companies from countries including Estonia, Italy, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, the UK, and the US.