The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) is increasing its presence in
the German market, as part of its overall marketing thrust to increase visitors from
that country and from Europe generally.
CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James along with
UK & Europe Director of Tourism, Cherrie Osborne. travelled to Germany, for
ITB Berlin, the first edition of the exhibition since the pandemic. ITB Berlin, is the
world’s largest tourism and travel trade fair.
“Germany is Europe’s largest travel market. With the Caribbean being Germany’s
third most popular long-haul destination after the Indian Ocean and USA. The
Tourism Authority is prioritizing increasing lift from this region, in order to benefit
from the market’s strong economy, and the high consumer demand," James said.
He noted that in 2022, 21% of arrivals into Antigua and Barbuda came from
Europe with at least 5% from the German speaking markets, with a further 56,000
or 15% of our cruise arrivals from Germany alone.
“There is great consumer interest in Germany for Antigua and Barbuda. We have
increased our marketing presence in the market and are confident that with the
needed airlift we will be in a better position to grow the market substantially”, the
ABTA CEO said.
During the show, the team conducted highly productive meetings with Condor,
Eurowings, KLM and NEOS to discuss the future possibilities of flights to the
destination for the winter 2023/2024 season. The discussions are ongoing with
positive results to be announced.
The team also conducted a series of trade and consumer media interviews and re-
engaged major tour operators such as DER Touristik and FTI to continue to raise
the awareness of the destination’s commitment to marketing initiatives.
“Antigua and Barbuda is working assiduously to grow its European market post
pandemic, which will help to compliment the business coming out of the UK. It’s
well known that Europeans travel for a minimum of ten to fourteen nights and prop
up the summer business”, said Director of Tourism UK and Europe Cherrie
Osborne.
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority was joined by private sector partners
including Cocos, Elite Islands Resorts, HBK Villas, Blue Sea Latin American
Traveller as well as Economic Envoy Ralf Hansen and Ambassador-at-Large Bert
Kirchner.
