by Shane Nelson
Last updated: 9:50 AM ET, Thu September 4, 2025
Tourism
ministers from seven different Caribbean nations took part in the fourth-annual
American Society of Travel Advisors’ (ASTA) Caribbean Showcase, held last week at
the Sandals South Coast Resort in Whitehouse, Jamaica, where more than 350
travel advisors, suppliers and industry stakeholders participated in a program
loaded with destination and product information all aimed at growing travel
sales to the region.
Examining topics like activity-based
tourism, cruise infrastructure, airlift, sustainability and artificial
intelligence – the showcase featured panel discussions with the ministers of
tourism for Jamaica, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Barbados,
Turks and Caicos, St. Kitts and Grenada, as well as destination presentations by
tourism officials from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Curacao.
Meanwhile, companies like Royal
Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Emerald Cruises,
MSC Cruises, and the Hyatt Inclusive Collection provided updates on their wide
range of products offered in the region. Advisors who attended this year’s Aug.
23-27 Caribbean Showcase also had a chance to take part in several networking
events, a trade show, resort site inspection tours and even a karaoke night.
Record Sales
During a short break in the loaded
showcase’s programming, ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby told me business in
the Caribbean is booming.
“The vast majority of these countries
are experiencing the highest level ever of tourism from the United States,”
Kerby said. “It's just record tourism across the board, and the Caribbean is
getting an outsized share.”
In a morning address to showcase
attendees, Jamaica's minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett, said the Caribbean
saw international arrivals increase 6.1% year-over-year to 34.2 million
visitors in 2024.
“This also represented a 6.9% increase
over the pre-pandemic levels, and so I must say thanks again,” Bartlett said,
speaking to advisors in the room. “Because you carried us through that
difficult period when all of us felt it could all be lost. But we came back. We
were resilient. And now, thanks to you we are beyond our pre-pandemic levels.”
Authentic Experiences
ASTA’s Kerby also talked with me during the
event about how the annual showcase is intended to help advisors recommend the
Caribbean to clients with confidence.
“This [showcase] is an opportunity for
travel advisors to really get in-depth knowledge from the horse's mouth,” Kerby
said. “If the ministers of tourism for seven of these islands here can't help
us understand the nuances of why we should pick them, then who can? So, it's
really about breaking through some of the media noise and marketing messaging
that's out there and really talking directly to the providers and with these
ministers of tourism to really understand what's on offer.”
A recurring theme throughout the
showcase was, in fact, the increasing interest among global travelers for authentic,
activity-based experiences that provide a genuine connection to a destination’s
unique cultures, cuisine and people.
“The Caribbean is tailor made for
that; that’s what we’re all about,” said Ernest Hilaire, the minister of
tourism for St. Lucia. “That’s why we’ve really pushed local ownership of the
tourism industry. It’s so reassuring being picked up by the owner of the villa
that you’re going to be staying at. … He’s taking you to his property, he’s
responsible for your experience during your stay, and you get that authentic
interaction and connection, and I think that’s really helped us.”
Dona Regis-Prosper, the secretary general and CEO for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, speaks at this year’s ASTA Caribbean Showcase. (Photo Credit: Shane Nelson)
Dona Regis-Prosper, the secretary
general and CEO for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, said during her address
that travel advisors are an essential component in the region’s effort to help more
of its residents benefit from growing consumer interest in experiential travel.
“Today, we’re not just asking you to
sell vacations,” Regis-Prosper said. “We’re asking you to tell our story to the
traveler who wants to connect not just consume, to the traveler seeking
authenticity not just amenities, to the traveler who is willing to get to know
us and spend locally. We need you to tell the deeper Caribbean story.”
New and Improved Products
Royal
Caribbean International’s Anthony Meloro provided a detailed update on a number
of coming private island products for the cruise line, including the Royal
Beach Club Paradise Island Nassau (slated to debut in December this year), the
Royal Beach Club Paradise Island Cozumel (coming in 2026), and Perfect Day
Mexico Mahahual (scheduled for completion in 2027).
Hyatt
Inclusive Collection regional sales manager Matthew Brightman shared insight
during his presentation about this June’s reopening of the 355-key Secrets St.
Lucia Resort & Spa – which is home to six restaurants and six bars – following
two years of extensive renovation. Brightman also provided details about the
openings of the 304-room Secrets Baby Beach Aruba and the 500-room Secrets
Playa Esmerelda Resort & Spa earlier this year, as well as the forthcoming
2025 debuts of the Dreams Grand Island Resort & Spa in Cancun and the
Secrets Mirabel Cancun Resort & Spa.
And MSC
Cruises' business development manager, Cassidy Davis, spoke about the cruise
line’s new marketing campaign and products aimed at U.S. consumers, including
the company’s latest World America vessel, which made its inaugural sailing out
of Miami in April.
“That’s
the first ship MSC has had debut from the U.S., so the ship was really designed
with the American market in mind – some of the venues on board, the
entertainment, the programming,” Davis said, adding that additional new product
is scheduled for later this year in Texas.
“In just a
few short months, the MSC Seascape will sail from Galveston,” she continued.
“So that will be a new U.S. home port for us. We will also add another ship in
Port Canaveral this year. … So if anybody asks you what MSC stands for, you can
tell them I told you it stands for ‘More Ships Coming!’”
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