ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

 

 

Press Release -

Last weekend, Antigua and Barbuda was showcased as one of the premier destinations at the first Salon du Voyages Trade and Consumer Travel show, in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.  The premiere Travel & Trade Fair opened on Friday 22^nd November and ran through Sunday 24^th November and welcomed thousands of keen consumers through its doors throughout the entire weekend. 

 

Antigua and Barbuda tourism partners had a successful showcasing of the destination, with the delegation being led by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, and a strong representation from the Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association. They were joined by representatives from Elite Island Resorts, Jolly Beach Resort & Spa, Halcyon Resort (Rex Resorts), the VIP Group of Properties, Curtain Bluff Resort, along with National Tours.

 

The goal of this particular showcase was to re-introduce the destination to the Guadeloupe market, as well as to support new airlift from Air Antilles Express originating out of Guadeloupe to Antigua.  The new airlift will commence service on Thursday, 19^th December 2013. This service is an extension of a Corsair flight out of Paris, France, in partnership with Promo Sejours, a French tour operator which has started to sell the destination from this winter. This new flight will provide Antigua and Barbuda with alternative connection options from Guadeloupe, as the flight will be operated with a 48 seat ATR-42, with 30 seats allocated to the tour operator leaving 18 seats on open sale.  This is excellent news for the destination, as interest in Antigua and Barbuda continues to be on the radar for new airlines; this also provides opportunity for enhanced connectivity into European target markets, and continues to display international confidence in the islands’ tourism product.

 

The Antigua and Barbuda offering provided visitors of the show with destination and accommodation collateral in French, which made it easier to sell the islands’ properties, including the ‘Small/Apartment’ style accommodations, as well as the more established branded hotels.  Information on the islands’ tours, attractions, restaurants and shopping was also featured in the French language to ensure that a varied cross section of the destination was sold to the consumers.

 

Marketing Manager of The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Charmaine Spencer, who headed the delegation said, “We have seen from the response out of the French Antilles market that there is potential to grow the number of visitors from Guadeloupe, but it has been difficult to develop this market due to inconsistent access and expensive connections to the destination. With the introduction of an alternative airline at a reduced cost, we hope to see exchanges between the two islands increase over the next few months. Although the flight is only scheduled at present for the winter season, the aim is to create enough demand for Air Antilles Express to continue the service through the summer.”

 

Throughout the weekend-long event, local representatives were able to conduct meetings with French tour operators, and have live interviews on Guadeloupe television and Radio Caraïbes International.

 

The Honorable John Maginley, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation noted, “Any new airlift into the destination, especially within the Caribbean, with onward connectivity to our key source markets is always desirable and displays continued interest in our tourism product throughout the International community.”

 

The direct flights between Guadeloupe (PTP) and Antigua (ANU) via Air Antilles Express will commence on the Thursday 19^th December and then continue every Monday and Thursday leaving PTP at 17.10 pm arriving in ANU at 17.30 pm and then returning to PTP.