Antigua & Barbuda hosted a meet and greet luncheon to introduce their new CEO, Colin James, of the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority. It was James’ first trip to Canada since the creation of the Tourism Authority in February 2009.

 

Last Wednesday's event was hosted at Pangaea restaurant in Toronto, the group having returned from Western Canada to host similar functions.
The Antigua & Barbuda delegation included Neil Forester, General Manager of the Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association (AHTA) and Erica Henry-Jackson, Sales and Marketing Manager of the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Office and Consulate General of Antigua & Barbuda in Toronto.

James said it was his mission to travel to Canada and meet firsthand with the journalists and travel industry partners that work hard alongside him to convince Canadians that Antigua & Barbuda is a desirable destination. He acknowledged the major hurdle is working on airlift; easier access and increased access is what will give the country’s tourism a boost, and lobbying for increased air is one of the organization’s main goals.

Some additional strategies the Tourism Authority is taking include creating more of an online presence, in order to help potential visitors do their initial research online, and getting involved in social media. Antigua & Barbuda is now on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites.

 

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Office in Germany organised jointly with the tourist boards of The British Virgin Islands and Grenada a Caribbean Cooking Road Show for a total of almost 100 travel agents in the cities of Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg from May 11 – 15, 2009.

The three tourist boards were accompanied by representatives of rex resorts, Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa, Grand Pineapple Beach, The Grand Royal Antiguan and The Grenada Grand Beach and Condor Airlines.

Besides detailed presentations on the destinations, hotels and Condor a cooking course was provided by professional chefs, instructing and helping to prepare the Caribbean dishes. The agents got many tips and ideas how to get the Caribbean into their own home and to enjoy the taste.

In Hamburg, the final city of the tour, a press breakfast for 20 media representatives was additionally organised where latest information from the three destinations and the hotels was distributed to key trade and public media.

This annual road show jointly with the British Virgin Islands and Grenada was realised for the fifth consecutive time, however it was the first time that the event was implemented in form of cooking courses.