CARIBBEAN: Key Opportunity for Tourism Suppliers

For Immediate Release
 
Contact: Bevan Springer 201 861-2056
               bevanspringer@nj.rr.com
 
KEY OPPORTUNITY FOR TOURISM SUPPLIERS
 
MIAMI (September 25, 2003) – Caribbean tourism attractions, such as ground 
operators, dive operators, rental car companies, golf courses and spas, are 
now able to offer products and services to North American consumers via the 
Caribbean tourism industry's new booking engine, www.GoCaribbean.com, 
according to hotelier Ralph Taylor, chairman of the Caribbean Hotel 
Association Charitable Trust (CHACT).
 
Taylor, who also is the chairman and managing director of Almond Resorts in 
Barbados, announced that they will now be able to list their businesses on 
the popular site. "We are getting great responses so far," said Taylor, who 
noted that currently more than 100 different products and services are 
actively participating. All allied partners must be members of the Caribbean 
Hotel Association, while travel agents can earn commissions on the online 
attractions and services. 
 
During the past year, the Life Needs the Caribbean marketing programme has 
delivered good businesses for the Caribbean in spite of the vagaries of 
international travel. According to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, the 
Caribbean’s tourism industry is showing signs of recovery after two difficult 
years. Stay-over arrivals to the region increased by an estimated seven 
percent during the winter of 2003 over the same period last year. The 
Caribbean registered stay-over increases of around seven percent from the 
United States; 21 percent from Canada and six percent from the European 
market.
 
Last fall, CHACT launched the multi-million dollar campaign to market and 
promote the Caribbean as a single destination. The Trust, a public/private 
sector alliance, unites major hotel chains, airlines and credit card 
companies with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, and with both CARICOM and 
non-CARICOM nations. 
 
www.GoCaribbean.com allows the region to play a full role in the entire 
distribution channel of Caribbean vacations, rather than just focusing on the 
delivery of a product. Consumers and travel agents alike can now book 
airlines, hotels and other Caribbean properties at bulk or heavily discounted 
rates.
 
Bookings on www.gocaribbean.com currently cover both vacation packages (air 
and hotel) and hotel room nights. Reservations also can be made by telephone 
using the 1-888-CARIBBEAN toll free service. Three hundred and ninety-seven 
(397) hotels, offering more than 86,000 rooms, are available for bookings.
 
Eighteen destinations participate in CHACT's marketing campaign: Antigua and 
Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, 
Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. 
Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and the 
United States Virgin Islands. 
 
Travel agents in North America can earn website commissions and toll-free 
customer support for agents is available at 1-888-724-6413. 
 
For further information, contact CHACT Program Director Chris Sharpless Jr. 
at 305 443-3040 or csharpless@chahotels.com . 
 
ENDS