Source: Discover Puerto Rico; published by: Exhibit City News staff
Discover Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association shared an announcement that Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2022 will take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico October 3-5. Now in its 40th year, the signature annual tradeshow will bring more than 750 leisure travel buyers, advisors and suppliers from 20 different countries. This will be the seventh time the Island has hosted the event in the last 24 years.
“We are honored to be chosen as the host destination for Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2022 and excited to welcome its members alongside suppliers, buyers and travel advisors from around the world,” says Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico. “It is an incredible opportunity to showcase all that our Island has to offer, as we look to an exciting future for our industry, including the most technologically advanced convention center in the Caribbean, the groundbreaking Distrito T-Mobile entertainment complex and the vibrancy of our culture paired alongside the magical natural wonders only found here.”
Discover Puerto Rico will welcome the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the region’s largest leisure-wholesale event alongside partners at the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association (PRHTA) and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC). With the wholesale market anticipated to deliver $100 million in revenue to participating Puerto Rico hotels this year, the tradeshow will be an opportunity for the Island to showcase how its tourism industry has responded to the pandemic with robust health and safety protocols and innovated since the previous hosting of this event in 2018, including renovations and new openings of hotels and world class venues. The event itself will be held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center (PRCC), the most technologically advanced in the Caribbean, adjacent to the groundbreaking Distrito T-Mobile entertainment complex.
“We salute the team at Discover Puerto Rico for taking the bold step to partner with CHTA this year and deliver the most diverse, exciting and meaningful Caribbean Travel Marketplace that will set the stage for the re-imagining of Caribbean tourism. The need to cement current partnerships and create new ones is critical, and we can’t wait to gather this fall to take Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean region forward,” states Nicola Madden-Greig, President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.
The event hosted in Puerto Rico will remind travelers arriving from U.S. gateways that they are exempt from additional customs and immigration, as well as additional COVID re-testing. For domestic U.S. travelers, there is seamless accessibility as U.S. territory, with no passport needed and the convenience of no currency exchange or international phone plans required to enjoy the destination. Information such as entry protocols for international and domestic travelers can be found on Discover Puerto Rico’s Travel Guidelines, which is updated in real-time.
“We look forward to hosting this important industry event that enables Puerto Rico to showcase its world-class premiere destination for business conventions, groups and leisure tourism. Our Convention District is proud to partner with ASM Global, CHTA and Discover Puerto Rico in ensuring the success of the 2022 Caribbean Travel Marketplace and in maximizing the chance to highlight Puerto Rico’s robust and varied offer to the industry,” says Mariela Vallines, executive director of the Puerto Rico Convention District Authority.
“We are looking forward to celebrating the Caribbean’s most important tourism event, CHTA Marketplace in Puerto Rico. It is a perfect time to showcase our beautiful island and all the new product we have to offer,” says Clarisa Jimenez Mayoral, President & CEO of PRHTA. “Hosting key partners and media from around the world will bring us a fantastic opportunity to expand our distribution network. Congratulations to the Discover Puerto Rico Team and our industry!”
This comes on the heels of a remarkable year for tourism in Puerto Rico in 2021 and with a confident outlook to 2022. Last year, the Island welcomed a record 4.3 million visitors, a 12% increase from the previous record. Total lodging revenues surpassed the notable billion-dollar mark for the first time, deriving from nearly 5.5 million room nights, alongside standout growth in air travel, surpassing 2019 records with seven straight months of record arrivals. This is coupled with the pioneering measures in health and safety that have built confidence with travelers, while being one of the most vaccinated destinations in the U.S.
