Romance expert coming for Leve

THE Caribbean’s romance expert Jacqueline Johnson will be in Tobago for the Leve 2018: Love is in the Air, on May 6 at the exclusive Villa Being in Arnos Vale, Tobago.

Johnson is the CEO of the multiple award-winning portals MarryCaribbean, CaribbeanWedding Association and GlobalBridalGroup that offer a complete listings of destination wedding, honeymoon, travel and tourism resources on the Internet. Widely regarded as the "wedding guru" she has also worked on several other bridal publications and served on the board of Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).

MarryCaribbean.com, voted the world’s best wedding agency by the elite members of the Shanghai Travelers Club, has consistently provided the tools to enable couples to make informed choices, said a media release.

Johnson has worked with a number of governments worldwide on ways to better attract and satisfy brides and honeymooners and has contributed significantly to the success of many Caribbean tourism destinations, the release said. She also hosts global marketing forums and bridal symposiums which bring together the best talent in the bridal industry to exchange ideas.

A recipient of CTO’s Medal of Excellence as one of the 50 Most Influential Persons in the Caribbean, Johnson is chairman of the CTO Foundation, which raises funds to further educate outstanding Caribbean citizens pursing tourism careers. She is a certified travel counsellor (CTC) and is a highly-rated speaker on the wedding and honeymoon travel market.

According to the Travel Industry Association of America, the romance (wedding and honeymoon) market in the US has seen an uptake in spending with the average couple spending approximately US$35,329 on their wedding. Destination couples spend US$8,200 on average on their honeymoon. The Caribbean collectively enjoys the largest share of the romance market and the prediction is that expenditure for destination weddings is poised to grow in 2018.

Leve the event, a collaborative effort between the public and private sector will promote and highlight Tobago and the Caribbean as the destination for romance, weddings, honeymoons and relaxation. The ultimate Tobago Dream Wedding will be staged at the event and will showcase fashion designers, visual artists, chefs and wedding accessories suppliers.

Organised by the Leve-Global group (formerly Tourism Intelligence International), Leve 2018 is designed to capture international publicity in the peak season for romance travel – prior to the June Bride phenomenon.

Leve 2018 sponsors include the Ministry of Tourism, the Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Mt Irvine Bay Resort, Pigeon Point Heritage Park, Romance Gardens, Exotic Caribbean Mountain Pride Ltd, AMCO, Angostura Ltd, Caribbean Airlines, Quality Coconuts, Tobago Bridal Association, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, JCD & Associates and Marcellin’s Creations and Media Works.