ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

Filming at the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda

Following the Inside Luxury Travel press trip, a group of 12  travel specialists  will visit the destination in July on a familiarisation trip. The Travel specialists represent luxury tour operators: Elegant Resorts, ITC Classics, Azure Collection, Carrier, Trailfinders, Travel Counsellors, Kenwood Travel, Tropical Sky,Turquoise Holidays, and Carolyn Lodge Travel.
Suzanne Walford, Market and Product Manager for Carrier, one of the luxury tour operator's on the planned trip, said: “Antigua is a hugely important destination for Carrier within our luxury Caribbean portfolio – with the new high-end openings over recent years, the significant investment in perennial favourites and the direct access from the UK, the island presents a very credible alternative for the luxury traveller.
She said that they found that clients who had visited one particular Caribbean island on a number of occasions were asking  advice on alternative islands offering the same level of luxury accommodation. "Antigua is the destination we turn to first.  As our second largest Caribbean island, we always aim to send our staff over as soon as possible so that they can confidently sell with the in depth firsthand knowledge that our clients expect.”  

Filming gets hot, when Inside Luxury Travel whip up a batch of Susie's Hot Sauce with maker, Rosie McMaster

The Ministry of Tourism and the Antigua Hotel and Tourist Association are preparing an itinerary for the group that will showcase Antigua and Barbuda's up-market tourism product.
The latest UK visitor arrivals reported by the Statistics Division in the Ministry of Tourism, showed an increase of 13.74 % in the first quarter of 2011.

 Hilary Modeste, the Director of Tourism for the UK and Europe commented: “We have launched a number of initiatives and activities to proactively support the trade and drive business.  We are pleased by the momentum in visitor numbers and expect to have a rebound year in 2011.”