Jamaica hosts groundbreaking virtual trade show

Jamaica's groundbreaking virtual tourism trade show, Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) Live 2020, boasts new and improved features, including an interactive map which showcases the island's main residential areas. The two-day conference, which began on Monday, is a joint collaboration between the tourism ministry’s marketing arm, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, in his opening speech, commended the two organisations for coming together to host the event.

“For the first time in 30 years, JAPEX will be held virtually and this interactive virtual platform will bring the event to a larger number of people than ever before. Attendees are in for a virtual treat, with breakout sessions, training sessions, an exclusive networking lounge, an exhibition hall with interactive booths, an interactive map showcasing our main resort areas and a roundtable discussion with global tourism leaders, hosted by the Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, to mention a few features.”

Attendees to the conference were able to view pre-recorded panels on topics such as the romance market, family travel, travel during covid19: update on travel authorizations and protocols, sports and entertainment, luxury travel and adventure travel. The exhibition floor gave attendees the opportunity to take a virtual family trip to Jamaica through an interactive map which highlighted the main resort areas, each with an introductory video and links to the different hotels, resorts, activities and attractions present in the area. Clicking on the link for a particular resort pops up an automatic chat with a representative of the facility.

Bartlett said the covid19 pandemic gave the industry the opportunity to reinvent itself and innovate. “JAPEX Live 2020 is a perfect example of how we can reinvent ourselves as we adapt to the global and national uncertainty brought on by the covid19 pandemic. This annual event is the single most important trade show for Jamaica’s tourism industry. It is important to the nation, the tourism industry and the many businesses that depend on tourism for survival.”

The event brought together international travel agents, wholesalers, tour operators, with leading suppliers in the local tourism industry. Bartlett said it was key that the industry took proactive measures to offer a tourism product that was safe, attractive for visitors, and economically viable for all tourism stakeholders.

“In 2019, we welcomed 4.3 million visitors, the sector earned US$3.7 billion, contributed 9.5 per cent of the nation’s GDP and facilitated 170,000 direct jobs. Tourism is a key driver of Jamaica’s economy. We are seeing positive signs that buoyancy is slowly returning to the sector. Preliminary figures from the JTB show that since reopening on June 15, we recorded 211,000 passengers to the island, earned US$239 million between June and September, and hotel occupancy rates are slowly inching up. We are cautiously optimistic that we will see a 40 per cent increase over the winter season when compared to the preceding period of massive downturn.”

Bartlett said that during the forced closure of hotels, which put thousands of tourism workers out of work, the government offered skills-building and upskilling courses free of cost. He said over 8,000 workers were trained and certified through these programmes.