On Location: “We punch above our weight”: Caribbean sets bold agenda at CHTA in Antigua

The 43rd annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace, put on by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), concluded this week with countries from all over the Caribbean holding press conferences and one-on-one meetings with tourism partners, suppliers, and media.

There were an estimated 800 delegates, with over 9,000 meetings booked.

Two days of press conferences and interviews with PAX from select islands revealed each nation’s up-to-date tourism numbers and details on future planning.

Overall, the Caribbean is hopeful for an uplift in Canadian tourism numbers as a result of the current political landscape between the U.S. and Canada.

Antigua and Barbuda

“We punch above our weight,” said Colin James, the CEO of Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Association. He was referring to their tourism model as he held a press conference alongside the Minister of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, Charles Fernandez.

“You help us tell our story” James said, happy to be hosting the CHTA conference for the first time.  70 per cent of their GDP comes from tourism, representing 12,000 jobs.  With over 1.2million visitor in 2024, the first quarter of 2025 (January to March) is already showing seven per cent growth with 103,843 visitors, 12,139 of them Canadian.

December 2024 showed an 11 per cent growth year over year, but that number is not expected to grow as WestJet has dropped their twice weekly service to once a week.

Air Canada also only offers once-a-week direct flights. Typically, Canadians would have to connect in the U.S. to travel at a different frequency, which has new challenges in today’s political environment between Canada and the U.S.

“What we really want is a relationship” Tameka Wharton, Director of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda for Canada, told PAX. “We’ve just opened a brand-new office in Toronto (at Yonge and Sheppard), where we can host trade press.”

Their virtual reality experience of Antigua is something they are very proud of and encourage visitors to their office (and at trade shows) to experience.

READ MORE: On Location: Caribbean targets Canadian market amid changing U.S. dynamics

“It gives you a taste of Antigua, and is especially helpful for those who are differently abled who might not be able to return to visit Antigua in person,” Wharton said.

“Our hospitality is what we export. It’s our people. You’re back to being home when you come to Antigua.”

The team is pleased with the success of their ArriveAntigua functionality, which allows visitors to Antigua to enter their passport information up to 72 hours in advance of their arrival.

Passports are scanned for an easy, quick arrival process which also cuts down on the use of paper forms.

Verandah Resort

PAX stayed at the Verandah Resort, which is a sister hotel to the Pineapple Beach Club (part of Elite hotels).

Guests from either location can easily shuttle between the two, allowing them to increase their dining options, and for Pineapple Beach Club guests to take advantage of the new pickleball courts at the Verandah.

Antigua is currently wrapping up Culinary Month, now established in May, which a huge success with locals as well as tourists. “We need the taste of Antigua on your taste buds” said Wharton.

Antigua hosts the Black Pineapple Awards for travel advisor top producers each year.

Jamaica

“Who do we work for?” Philip Rose, deputy director of tourism for Jamaica asked. “We work for the corn soup vendor. We work for the jerk chicken lady. We work for all Jamaicans.”

With estimated gross foreign exchange earnings of $4.6 billion USD for a full year (2024-2025) , their work is paying off.

Airlift from Canada is up + 12 per cent  in the winter, with an additional 35,000 seats committed for 2025 season (November to April), for a total of 329,000 seats booked.

Air Canada flies from Halifax, Ottawa, and twice daily from Toronto, direct to Montego Bay. Sunwing has just added a weekly direct flight from Quebec City to Montego Bay.

“Airline growth is something we work on over time. All of our support and collaboration is coming together now.” said Angella Bennett, director for Canada, in a sit-down interview with PAX.

The 2,000-room Princess Grand Jamaica opened in 2024, and will be opening the island’s first casino in 2025. Riu Palace Aquarelle added 753 rooms with their May 2024 opening, and currently Montego Bay is seeing construction of a Dreams Resort, Planet Hollywood and Visa Ambassadors.

A staggering 70 per cent of all bookings from Canada to Jamaica go through travel advisors.

“The travel advisors are the success story for Canadian travellers going to Jamaica.” said Bennett. “We are completely indebted to them. Truly, we are in this together.”

During their 10th Annual One Love Affair Awards ceremony, 14 out of the 50 Jamaican travel specialists were Canadian.

Saint Lucia

While Saint Lucia saw a 14 per cent increase in arrivals in 2024, Canada makes up only 8.41 per cent of that number, well behind the 60 per cent which come from the US, with the UK and Caribbean guests rounding out the top four.

“There is growth coming from Canada,” said Geraine Georges, public relations at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority.

They tourism board just advertised for a sales rep in Canada, and are working with Toronto-based Total Public Relations to expand their activation programs after the success of their Raptors’ half-time takeover event in February.

“We know Canadians are looking for new options,” said Louis Lewis, CEO of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority. “And they are prepared to meet the demand.”

There are hotel and resort expansion plans with a 355 room Secrets Saint Lucia Resort and Spa, adult all inclusive to open in 2025, as well as an A’ila Resorts and the LifeCo Holistic Wellness Hotel, complete with luxury residences, with a 2,000 seat convention centre, slated to open in 2025 in Mount Pimard.

In 2026, the destination will open a Underwater Sculpture Park with three installations, celebrating the history and the culture of Saint Lucia.

Saint Lucia’s annual Jazz and Arts Festival has seen an increase of 30 per cent in attendance, with over 9,000 people taking in different genres of music during the festival which ran from April 30 to May 11.

Travel advisors compete for the Global Piton Awards program, which will be held June 17.

This program rewards travel advisors who have booked over $1,000,000 (USD) in the past year.  Typically they see about 15 travel advisors from Canada receive this reward.

Barbados

“It was a record-breaking year in tourism for Barbados," according to CEO of Barbados Tourism Marketing, Andrea Franklin. The island saw a 10.6 per cent increase in visiting tourists, totalling 704,340, including 87,142 Canadians, which grew at 13 per cent.

The growth was driven mainly by the North American market, but the #1 slot in terms of numbers belongs to the U.K., with 239,045 visitors.

Barbados saw many cruise inaugurals in the last two months of 2024, including several MSC ships, and the Odyssey of the Seas.

There are several new hotel openings slated for 2025, including the Hotel Indigo with 132 rooms, and the chic boutique hotel, Blue Monkey.

2026-27 will see the openings of the Royalton CHIC Barbados  (232 suites) and the Pendry Barbados, its first property outside of the U.S. In addition, the Hyatt Ziva (380 rooms), Beaches Barbados (600 rooms) and several new Marriott International hotel brands are planned.

A Canadian milestone was reached as Barbados celebrated its 75th year with Air Canada. The airline’s inaugural flight (then operated by Trans-Canada Air Lines) landed in Barbados on December 3, 1949.

Canadian travel advisors are invited to reach for the Barbados Elite Club, which allows advisors access to rewards, training, updates, priority invitations to FAM trips and VIP events.

The Bahamas

“Bahamas is the cultural epicentre of the Caribbean,” said Latia Duncombe, director general of Bahamas Tourism.  With 11.2million visitors in 2024,  (1.7mm by air and 9.5mm by sea), Duncombe emphasized that “behind every statistic is a real Bahamian family, a small business owner, a taxi driver, a straw vendor, a fisherman, a hotel executive, and budding entrepreneurs who depend on the flow of visitors to maintain their livelihood.”

January to March 2025 has seen their total foreign visitors at 3.3mm.

Investment wise, they are increasing their room inventory with three new hotel buildings, and a full-scale cruise resort (Celebration Key on the Grand Bahamas island, scheduled to open in summer 2025). 

The casino is being revitalized, and they continue to offer the Greg Norman golf course, and a 16 slip mega-yacht marina.

One of the programs that sets Bahamas apart is their People to People program, which is now in its 50th year. The program’s intent is to show visitors how Bahamians live, and to share their day and their families.

“We pair professions. Dentists with dentists, and so on, so that they have something in common to begin with, and they spend a day together.”

Halifax, Ottawa and Calgary airports will join the direct flights from Canada, in addition to the existing airlift coming from Toronto and Montreal.

For travel advisors, there’s the Bahamas Specialist Program, a digital training resource where agents who report their Bahamas bookings are eligible for monthly and quarterly rewards.

“It’s not one island, it’s a lifetime of them,” declares a new ad campaign launched by the Bahamas in order to give some of the smaller islands profile.

The campaign highlights their spokesperson, Bahamian Lenny Kravitz, with ads in Times Square and other high traffic locations.

The Cayman Islands

“Research says that the perfect vacation length is eight days.”

And with that in mind, the Cayman Islands revealed their latest campaign, with the offer of the seventh night free at participating hotels and resorts.  Bookings have to be done before August 17, 2025, and travel must be completed by August 31, 2025.

Canadians make up 8.6 per cent of the current tourist market, according to 2025 Q1 data, showing an increase of 8.5 per cent versus same period last year.

They are expecting growth from Canada, and have several hotel projects in development, including the Grand Hyatt, estimated to open April 2026, which with 382 rooms will be the largest in the Caymans.

The Cayman Island Specialist Program offers travel advisors the opportunities of exclusive FAM trips, early access to special rates, online leads in their regions as well as cash rewards.

Anguilla

Anguilla positions itself as the Caribbean island where technology meets tourism.

As owners of the .ai domain, they are taking advantage of this unique opportunity from both a revenue perspective ($37 million earned from domain name sales in 2024, making up 20 per cent of total government revenue), and a marketing future planning perspective. They are pivoting between luxury escape to an innovation hub, with plans for digital conferences.

Canada makes up 32.6 per cent of the Anguilla tourist market, with 11,795 arrivals in 2024.

Turks & Caicos

Turks & Caicos is represented by VoX International in Canada, and Canada is the second most important market for them, after the U.S., but ahead of the U.K. 

They saw +54% year over year in their cruise passengers in the first quarter of 2025 (at 410,107). They currently have 4,000 hotel rooms, and that number will grow in 2025. Their average daily rate is exceptionally high at $1,544, but that number does not include short term rentals.

Dominica

Dubbed “The Nature Island” Dominica sees themselves as a small island with a grand vision. Part of that grand vision includes their much-anticipated Cable Car Project which will see a cable car installed allowing access to Boiling Lake.

The cable car, which is said to be the longest in the world, will stretch over the 6.6 kilometres in 20 minutes, a journey which previously would have taken six hours by car. It is expected to be open in 2026.

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