More than 150 buyer companies and 1,000 delegates are expected to convene in Montego Bay for the 42nd staging of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace from May 20 to 23.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday (March 14), at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in New Kingston, President, CHTA, Nicola Madden-Greig, said a special effort is being made to bring more new buyer delegates to participate in the event.

“We have expanded to target buyers from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia,” said Mrs. Madden-Greig.

“We will also have for the first time a complete stand-alone MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) itinerary with 20 meeting planners attending the first ever CHTA Caribbean MICE exchange,” she added.

The CHTA President pointed out that the MICE market has “tremendous potential” for the region, with more than US$900 billion generated worldwide in 2023.

It is expected to double that revenue by 2032.

Mrs. Madden-Greig also indicated that 50 regional and international media representatives are expected on the island to engage with Caribbean delegates and “share the news of the richness and diversity of our region”.

The 42nd CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace will feature three components – the Business of Tourism (The Caribbean Travel Forum on May 20), the Marketing of Tourism (CHTA Travel Marketplace May 21-22) and the Community of Tourism (Responsible Tourism Day on May 23).

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said that the CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace is “a great moment of anticipation”.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett,

“It is not an event in the context of a singular activity, but it is a great opportunity for us as a Caribbean people, not just to showcase the strength and power of our assets but also provide leadership with innovation,” he added.

The Minister said that he is excited about the various components of the CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace.

“The region is ready to take a new perspective on itself in this post-COVID era, to grow tourism to another level and the three key points that [Mrs. Madden-Greig] dealt with, tourism and business, tourism and marketing, but responsible tourism is perhaps at the heart of the innovation that we speak about,” said Minister Bartlett.

Caribbean Travel Marketplace affords tourism suppliers the opportunity to meet face to face with wholesalers from around the world selling Caribbean vacation travel.

The main objective is for suppliers and buyers to conduct negotiations that benefit the region.

Only CHTA members can attend the event.

Background
The Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference started in 2006 and is hosted annually by the JSE at the beginning of each year. The Conference attracts an elite group of executives and sponsors from different industries in Jamaica and across the region. There is no better testimony to the success of any Conference than the fact that the major sponsors remain on-board year after year. Jefferies Group LLC is the Conference’s main overseas sponsor, a leading global investment banking firm that provides investors, companies and governments with a full range of investment banking and wealth management services across the financial spectrum.

By its successful staging each year, JSE’s Regional Conference has earned its place as a calendar event to which government officials, leading experts in business, investors and other stakeholders, locally and worldwide look forward to attend each year. With each year’s theme, the Conference gets more exciting and entertaining. Since 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference is held in hybrid format and participants join from Asia, Africa, Europe and North and South America. This has enhanced the popularity of the Conference and positioned it to being among the best conferences in the world.

The Conference examines areas of growth, challenges and advancements that are currently shaping societies and the world economies and critique how economies and businesses can best manage such rapid changes and capitalize on opportunities for progress through provocative discussions, formal and informal.

Every year, the conference brings together world class leaders and industry experts who willingly share their success secrets and demystify complex topics into common language that business people and professionals from every sector can understand and be equipped for the year ahead, to navigate successfully and thrive through the sweeping global trends and disruptions that are affecting every country and region.

For More Information CLICK THIS LINK

Jamaica is set to launch its re-imagined outsourcing proposition to hundreds of entrepreneurs, business leaders and executives from multinational corporations, global startups and trade promotion organisations when the country hosts the upcoming Outsource to Latin America and the Caribbean Global Digital Services Summit (O2LAC) from June 14 -15 in Montego Bay.

Jamaica will be the first English-speaking nation from the Latin America and Caribbean bloc to host this Summit, which will be its ninth edition. O2LAC was created by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Integration and Trade Sector with the goal of unleashing the region’s full potential in the global digital services sector. Business leaders will learn about breakthroughs in emerging technologies such as AI. They will discover advanced capabilities in strategic Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), and Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), as well as identify new business opportunities through B2B and B2G matchmaking events.

As Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Honourable, Aubyn Hill, explains that “O2LAC presents a prime opportunity for the Government of Jamaica and its partners to introduce Jamaica’s re-energized global digital services sector offerings to the largest gathering of prospective services buyers and suppliers in the region. We have been working hard to enhance and elevate Jamaica’s product offerings and the launch of our new Global Campaign at O2LAC will communicate our unique value proposition, and cement our brand in the minds of executives, entrepreneurs and experts as the superior option for global businesses seeking to upscale their outsourcing goals and growth results”.

Jamaica is already a mature Outsourcing location and home to companies such as Conduent, Itel, Sutherland Global, Sagility, Startek and IBEX. Most of these companies provide services to some of the top Fortune 50 businesses. With over 85 companies currently in operation and annual revenue close to US$1billion, while employing over 60,000 people, the country has the largest Outsourcing Sector in the English-speaking Caribbean. Special Economic Zone incentives allow for duty concessions and reduced corporate income taxes, and continuous investments in telecoms and electricity infrastructure ensure stable power and broadband capabilities that make Jamaica a destination of choice.

The new National Investment Policy includes a raft of economic policies, initiatives and support measures designed to make it easier to establish businesses in the country. The continual efforts of Jamaica’s Global Digital Services Sector (GDSS) Project to enhance training, certification and create new job opportunities within the sector, will re- energize the Jamaican market to welcome a new cadre of Fortune 1,000 companies.

President of Jamaica Promotion Corporation (JAMPRO), Shullette Cox, says, “What we will be discussing at O2LAC will be vital to ensuring that business leaders understand how they can harness the full potential of Jamaica’s expanding global digital services sector. We will specifically demonstrate how Jamaica’s offerings can be tailored to solve any concerns in the global digital services sector. For instance, in the area of skills training, we are continuously enhancing our capabilities. Through the GDSS Project we are creating training, apprenticeship, internship, certification and train-the-trainer programmes. When these are coupled with the GDSS Talent Hub and Career Pathway Framework, we will be able to connect consistently thousands of talented Jamaicans with the specialised training which will enable them to work in the sector. The campaign launch will enable far greater understanding of how best to access and synergise the
very best outsourcing services that Jamaica has to offer.”

O2LAC is expected to attract up to 600 local, regional and international attendees. Event speakers include: Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Honourable, Aubyn Hill; Manager, Integration and Trade Sector, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Fabrizio Opertti; Deputy Director of AI for Good Research Lab, Rahul Dodhia; Head of Global Services for Carrier, Steve Rudderham; President of the Global Services Association of Jamaica, Anand Biradar; and several Latin American business leaders along with other representatives from the IDB.

Fabrizio Opertti, IDB Manager of the Integration and Trade Sector stated, “We believe in Latin America and the Caribbean’s potential as a global service delivery platform, offering unrivaled quality, early technology adoption, and contributions from SMEs, entrepreneurs, and startups. Outsource2LAC is instrumental in consolidating our regions position as major player in global digital services exports”;. The Global Digital Services Sector is projected to grow to US$1 Trillion by 2025 with business outsourcing in Latin America and the Caribbean accounting for over $10 billion in regional revenues and investment. As the country named the Best Caribbean Nation for Doing Business by Forbes (2019), Jamaica is aiming to build on its impressive performance in the industry to catapult its way to being the premier Outsourcing destination in Latin America and the Caribbean.

For more information about O2LAC and to review the agenda, please visit

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Expo Jamaica 2023 provides the opportunity for businesses to jump-start exports coming out of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, says President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), John Mahfood.

“We see this as an event to re-energise our manufacturers, who are now gearing up and putting behind us, the recovery mode or survival mode and now looking to expand their businesses overseas,” he said.

“My expectation is that this, more than any other Expo, will bring us together and galvanise the effort at exporting,” he added.

Mr. Mahfood was speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank held at the agency’s head office in Kingston.

The 48th staging of Expo Jamaica, under the theme: ‘Connecting the World to Jamaica’ will be held from April 27 to 30 at the National Indoor Sports Centre and the National Arena.

Mr. Mahfood said that the four-day event will enable Jamaican businesses to meet and develop relationships with various buyers and distributors from all over the globe over a short period of time and at one location.

He said it would be difficult and costly for local entrepreneurs to make these contacts if they had to travel to seek these markets by themselves.

“So, imagine if you were to visit all of the countries in the Caribbean and spend three or five days trying to find distributors for your products? It would take a significantly long time to go through every country and it would be very expensive,” he pointed out.

Noting that the business sector has faced challenges due to COVID-19, Mr. Mahfood said that “Jamaica has bounced back in a strong way.”

“We are at a point where we have to be thinking strategically about growing our businesses. We have many years of good fortune to come, and this is the greatest opportunity for our businesspeople to step up and step out of the conservative mode that we have been in, and that is what I hope we will see from this expo,” he said.

The first two days of Expo Jamaica 2023 have been reserved exclusively for buyers to transact business with exhibitors.

Expo Jamaica will be held from April 27 to 30 at the National Indoor Sports Centre and the National Arena in Kingston, under the theme: ‘Connecting the World to Jamaica.’

Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, Senior Sales and Promotion Manager at Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Ricardo Durant, said that April 27 and 28 have been set aside for buyers to meet with local manufacturers and other providers of goods and services, and explore all options for doing business.

He is urging entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunity by registering for the tradeshow at www.expojamaica.com.jm. Persons can also visit Instagram @expojamaica or email expojamaica@jmea.org for further information.

“Remember, senior decision-makers from companies will be present to discuss business with you; don’t miss that opportunity. It is a good opportunity to do business right in that environment all to yourself,” he pointed out.

Mr. Durant told JIS News that about 374 buyers from 20 countries have so far registered for the Expo, noting that 51 per cent are repeat buyers while 49 per cent are new.

“So, this amount of repeat and new buyers is a good balance for the event. This shows that we are renewing and improving enough for previous buyers to remain interested and of course, we are generating new interest and we are very pleased with that,” he said.

Further, he informed that 38 of the registered buyers are from CARICOM countries and there are 15 non-CARICOM members, including Cuba, British Virgin Islands and the United States (US) Virgin Islands.

He said that JAMPRO is also targeting buyers from China, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and from unknown traditional markets.

“Apart from our traditional partners, such as the USA and Canada, United Kingdom and CARICOM, we have also seen registration from as far as Ghana and the Middle East,” Mr. Durant told JIS News.

“So, JAMPRO is pleased with the level of in