Destination News

Travel Advisors Selling the Caribbean Celebrate Caribbean American Heritage Month

“Rediscover the Caribbean One Day At A Time” is the theme of a month-long celebration in June which is celebrated as National Caribbean American Heritage Month.  Organized by the  Facebook Group Travel Advisors Who Sell the Caribbean, this initiative will spotlight Caribbean destinations by providing insider information to support top travel advisors who have become some of the Caribbean’s biggest brand ambassadors, particularly during this global pandemic.

Travel Advisors Who Sell the Caribbean is a private Facebook Group that promotes all of the exciting attractions that the Caribbean has to offer, for the world to experience, be inspired by and share.  The group facilitates a peer networking environment, where all members can unite digitally to converse, problem-solve, and learn from each other.  Features in the group include: social network forums, messaging features, activity feeds, blog posts and more.

Throughout the month of June, an on-line interactive program of events will appeal to the travel advisors’ sense of camaraderie, philanthropy and affinity for Caribbean culture, including the music, cuisine and attractions of one of the most friendly and welcoming regions in the world.

Kelly Fontenelle-Clarke, founder and administrator of the Facebook Group announced, “We will host several fantastic on-line events to create greater awareness of the Caribbean’s diverse product offerings and to showcase the beauty of the region.  Although the Caribbean has been hard hit by the global pandemic, through our strength, resilience and the support of the travel community, we are beginning to reopen our doors to welcome visitors back to our shores. We have so much to celebrate as we begin to rebuild our tourism product, stronger and even more exciting, nothing will hold us back from celebrating our heritage.”

“As Caribbean people we are very proud of our culture and heritage. What a perfect time to celebrate, as we embark on the rebuilding process to ensure that our heritage remains alive and strong,” said Minister of Tourism, St. Lucia, Hon. Dominic Fedee – Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

Caribbean American Heritage Month Planned Events – June 2020

June 1  Message from CTO Chairman to travel advisors and partners.

June 1 – 30  Rediscover the Caribbean: Showcase of the Islands.

June 11 The Caribbean’s Biggest Virtual Beach Bash. A Zoom party celebrating Caribbean culture with a special performance by R & B singer Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge.  In addition to interactive fun activities and lots of prizes, there will be an online auction to benefit the CTO Foundation. The event starts at 6p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. EST

June 11   Launch of Caribbean Summer on-line silent auction hosted by www.betterworld.org which will benefit the CTO Foundation and provide training opportunities for the next generation of Caribbean hospitality leaders.

Jun 22 – 26 Caribbean Celebrity Chefs Week. A packed schedule of culinary demonstrations by some of the Caribbean’s finest chefs, including Chef Claude Lewis – Chopped episode winner from Antigua, Chef Shorne Benjamin” Beat Bobby Flay competitor  and others.

The three main objectives of this month-long celebration are to:

– provide significant publicity for the Caribbean region

– engage the various stakeholders through networking opportunities

– generate more business opportunities for those who sell the Caribbean

Since the inception of the Facebook group in August 2019, members have been motivated to share content and updates or ask pertinent questions about the Caribbean.  “I am so grateful for this group. I can always count on the most up-to-date information being posted there throughout the global pandemic. The group has been a great resource to receive and share updates about that the Caribbean and has allowed us to stay connected. It has been incredible how travel advisors support each other in sharing the  information as it unfolds. I don’t know how I did my job before the inception of this group and others like it. Going forward, I hope that this group will continue to be a resource to help travel advisors generate future business for the Caribbean,”  Barbara Khan, Vista Travel, Inc. stated.

Travel Advisors Selling the Caribbean gives Caribbean destinations, hotels and other tourism entities access to the leading travel advisors, as travelers hold the travel industry to higher standards and demand more transparency than ever before.

For more information contact Kelly Fontenelle-Clarke

(T) 404 386 8062

Email: Kelly@kfmcs.com

Tourism Success Continues into 2020

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (4 March 2020) Stayover arrivals to the Cayman Islands for the month of January 2020 increased 3.59 per cent, a total of 1,486 more than January 2019.

International markets showed strong signs of improvement with the highest growth noted from the Canadian market followed by Europe and Latin America.

“The continued marketing efforts by the Department of Tourism under the direction of my Ministry continue to show strong signs of growth in this new decade. My tourism teams are dedicated to providing tangible benefits through tourism driven economic activity for our islands and our people,” commented the Minister of Tourism, the Hon Moses Kirkconnell.

For more information and detailed arrival statistics, please visit www.visitcaymanislands.com/statistics.