TTAL Executive Chairman Alicia Edwards (left) with Tanya Read of Travel Weekly and Sangita Makwana of AMG Ltd after meeting at Caribbean Unite.
SCARBOROUGH Tobago--The Tobago Tourism Agency Limited (TTAL) teamed up with AMG Ltd, Tobago’s overseas destination representatives in the United Kingdom (UK), to represent Tobago at Caribbean Unite in England on March 13, 2023.
According to a press release from TTAL, Caribbean Unite – hosted annually in London – is firmly established in the Caribbean tourism calendar as one of the most important, effective and focussed business-to-business (B2B) workshops of the year. It presents an ideal environment for B2B networking activities between the Caribbean-specific travel community (airlines, wholesalers and tour operators), destinations, hoteliers and ground handlers. The event has consistently proven to be a forum in which members of the UK travel industry can meet and exchange information, intelligence, contracts and agreements.
TTAL Executive Chairman Alicia Edwards and Ex-Officio Member of the Board Christopher James attended Caribbean Unite on behalf of Tobago, following up on their attendance at ITB Berlin from March 7 to 9, 2023. The intensive one-day event welcomed over 90 buyers and a similar number of suppliers, and saw over 1,420 meetings taking place. TTAL’s meetings were with both existing and new contacts for Tobago, with market updates and new opportunities being discussed.
The event was followed by two further days of meetings between Tobago’s tourism officials and key UK business partners, addressing issues of airlift, hotel occupancy, positioning and promotion of the destination, and emerging trends in UK consumer behaviour.
Edwards stated, “A primary objective of attending Caribbean Unite was to seek out opportunities for Tobago’s hotels, guest houses, villas, [destination management companies – Ed.] DMCs, guides and attractions. The conversations that took place will help us to match tour operators with our on-island suppliers, depending on the nature of their product and target market.
“Additionally, now that coronavirus COVID-19-related travel restrictions are minimal and a normal pattern of sales and promotions for selling holiday packages has resumed, our discussions included setting dates for training travel agents and staff on all things Tobago, opportunities to join familiarisation trips, and assistance with inspirational and informative promotional material for print and digital media.”
With over 28 one-on-one meetings successfully held at Caribbean Unite, TTAL fully capitalised on the perfectly timed opportunity to assess travel demand and discuss plans for forthcoming sales in the United Kingdom, which continues to significantly contribute to the total tourist arrivals to Tobago.
