Curaçaoto host first Intra Caribbean Travel Exposition
The Curaçao Tourism Development Bureau(CTDB) will host the first Intra Caribbean Travel Expo and CulturalExchange from September 5 to 8, 2001 at the World Trade Centerin Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. The event offersprofessionals in the industry an opportunity to promote theirservices and products to the Caribbean market. It also aims tocreate awareness and interest among Caribbean destinations forinter-regional travel and cultural exchange.
"It will allow each destination toget acquainted with the kinds of tourism products and servicesthat are being offered in the rest of the region.
We know that intra Caribbean tourism isgrowing, and this is a chance for all of us to increase businessopportunities and stimulate even more traffic", says EricKlooster, the CTDB's Marketing Manager for the Caribbean and CentralAmerica.
The Expo, which is open to national tourismoffices, hotels, airlines, trade associations, cruise lines, groundagents and other service providers, includes educational seminars,workshops and cultural shows in the capital city of Willemstadover the four days.
The CTO fully supports the event, as theintra Caribbean market is a burgeoning one. This market increasedby 34 percent during the five- year period from 1994 to 1998.In 1999, this market registered 1.42 million tourists, representinga 5 percent increase over 1998. Puerto Rico attracted the largestnumber of Caribbean tourists (288,100), followed by Cuba (156,543), Trinidad and Tobago (101,445) and Barbados (85, 689).
Further information on the Intra CaribbeanTravel Expo and Cultural Exchange can be obtained by contactingthe Curaçao Tourism Development Bureau at telephone: 5999461 6000, email: ctdbcur@attglobal.net.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization is atourism development agency comprising 33 member governments fromthe French, English, Spanish and Dutch speaking Carib-bean, aswell as private sector organizations, with headquarters in Barbadosand marketing operations in New York, London and Toronto.
The CTO's primary objective is to provideto and through its members, the services and information neededfor the development of sustainable tourism for the economic andsocial benefit of the Caribbean people. The organization providesspecialized support and technical assistance to member countriesin the areas of marketing, human resource development, researchand statistics and sustainable tourism development.
For additional information, please contactCTO Headquarters at Sir Frank Walcott Building, Second Floor,Culloden Farm Complex, St. Michael, Barbados; Tel.: 246 427 5242; Fax: 246 4293065; e-mail: ctobar@caribsurf.com.