The Valley, February 2017……The Anguilla booth was a hive of activity at the recent CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace, as numerous meetings with delegates from a wide variety of vendor companies were conducted during the course of the two day trade show.
The Hon. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary with Responsibility for Tourism, Youth, Sports and Culture, led the Anguilla delegation, which included Larry Franklyn, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism; Gilda Gumbs-Samuel, Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) Board Member and Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourist Association (AHTA); Noel Mignott, Director, ATB North America, and Alison Ross, ATB North America. Representatives from Anguilla’s private sector also attended the show: Sandra Richardson, owner of Richardson’s Car Rental, and AHTA Board member; Rolf Masshardt, General Manager, Carimar Beach Club; Maurice Bonham Carter, Owner, and Maria Hawkins, General Manager, from Arawak Beach Inn; Marie Walker, Director of Sales, Altamer; Frank Pierce, Director of Sales, and Patricia Bryan, Reservations Manager from Zemi Beach House.
The ATB representatives met with buyers from all over the world who sell Caribbean hotels, villas and services, including tour operators/wholesalers FC USA, MLT/Delta Vacations, Classic Vacations, Travel Impressions and the ID Travel Group; and online travel agencies booking.com and Expedia.
Several meetings with suppliers who do not currently sell Anguilla or have a very limited selection of properties also took place, including Tourico Holidays from the U.S.A.; EWTC GmbH from Germany; Luxutour from Bulgaria and Cocktail Holidays from Romania; and JAF Travel & Tours from Latin America.
“CHTA Marketplace provides an invaluable opportunity for us to meet with our key trade partners, engage with new suppliers and receive first hand intelligence on issues affecting business to Anguilla,” stated The Hon. Cardigan Connor. “We are very encouraged by the high degree of interest and enthusiasm for our Anguilla product, and we see a real opportunity to expand our trade relationships, for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” he continued.
The delegation also met with a variety of advertising, press and web development suppliers who provided information on their services and proposed new avenues for promoting Anguilla.
