North American Travel Advisors are expressing confidence that the Caribbean stands to benefit from robust travel in 2024.
Board members of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) recently met with Chapter Presidents from 50 U.S. states at the Sandals Grande Antigua Resort.
President and CEO of ASTA Zane Kirby said the one thing the travel trade has noted is that many millennials who now occupy management positions are prioritizing travel, “Millennials are the largest age group within the United States over 70 million, and one of the interesting things is that they preference travel over almost any other discretionary spend, even over things like housing.”
Kirby added that in spite of the online options, many travelers still turn to travel advisors to help manage their travel experience, and when the advisors have the opportunity to visit destinations like Antigua and other Caribbean islands, then it becomes much easier for them to promote and sell these destinations to clients, “The vast majority of them (tourists) when they are actually ready to book, they are going to go and find someone who has actual expertise and experience. That’s the one thing internet search engines don’t have, the actual onsite experience that our members are getting here this week.”
Noting the increasing competition from other destinations all over the world, Minister of Tourism of Antigua Charles Henry Fernandez, commended Sandals Resorts for its role in helping to bring regional destinations and the travel trade closer together, thereby ensuring that the Caribbean gets the exposure it needs to allow their clients to choose here first, “The US is our most important source market, and ASTA is the group that delivers most of the people out of the US to us, so it’s very important for them to come and be here with us. Our mutual success as a tourism destination along with the success of Sandals, as the region’s premier hospitality brand would not be possible without your support. I commend Sandals for its singular role in not just creating the world’s top hotel brand, but for hosting your visit in beautiful Antigua and Barbuda.”
Meantime Gary Sadler, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Industry Relations at Unique Vacations, the exclusive marketing partner for Sandals Resorts, said the company is firmly committed to its relationship with ASTA and travel advisors, who continue to play a vital role in driving Caribbean tourism.
This is why he noted that Sandals continues to host travel advisors at all its resorts throughout the region and intends to expose them to even more destinations in the future, “Because we know that unless and until you come and see and experience and explore the destination you would never be in a position to truly accept how wonderful these islands of the Caribbean are.”
Sadler went on to thank the travel advisors for helping to ensure that the regional tourism sector remains vibrant and continues to grow, “Part of your thrust as travel advisors is to experience the region and be confident about what the region has to offer, Sandals Resorts for sure is spending a lot of resources building out and expanding throughout the Caribbean, adding new rooms and new destinations, so in the end you have more options to sell to your clients.”
ASTA’s much anticipated Caribbean Showcase will take place at Sandals Royal Curacao later this year.