Antigua & Barbuda Beckons visitors to the NY Times Travel Show

The Twin Islands’ Cuisine Showcased alongside ABTA’s Cutting-Edge Travel Trade Technology at NY Times Travel Show

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority’s (ABTA) office in New York joined over 500 exhibitors at the annual New York Times Travel Show, held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, January 23 to 25. The design of the ABTA booth was inspired by a traditional Antigua and Barbuda food market, with a display of tropical fruits, vegetables and provisions.

The 20,000 plus travelers and industry professionals that were in attendance enjoyed culinary delicacies infused with ingredients such as coconut, mango and pineapple, prepared by Antiguan and Barbudan Chef Murphy of Yabba Foods and Chef Melvin Myers of Success Catering. Chef Melvin’s carefully hand crafted fruit was considered ‘culinary art’ and was a favorite among visitors to the booth. Music from a live steel pan gave added authenticity to the installation while consumers, media and travel agents engaged with the ABTA’s team to gather information on the destination.

In keeping with the ABTA’s effort to implement an up to date sales and marketing strategy, the agency recently launched the “Antigua and Barbuda Insider Program” (ABIP) app for travel agents. ABIP is cutting edge technology that delivers a savvy platform for qualifying travel agents to become experts on the destination. ABIP was accessible to the travel professionals that visited the ABTA booth and they were able to sign-up for the program on-site by scanning the barcode.

The ABTA’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, North America, Marie Walker was encouraged by the attention the ABTA booth generated. “The New York Times Travel Show is a fixture on the travel industry calendar. The show provides the ABTA with a platform for exposure as we continue to seek new and innovative ways to promote Antigua and Barbuda as a premiere vacation destination in the highly competitive U.S. market. I’m heartened to see that our booth attracted such great attention” said Walker.

The ABTA was joined by representatives from the private sector, Rod Hinds of Elite Island Resorts, Chito Urtula of Rex Resorts and Susan Coulton of the Sugar Ridge Hotel and The Inn At English Harbour.