Caribbean Week goes from an outdoor consumer fair to an indoor Media Marketplace
Lisa Raffaele

The outdoor Caribbean Fair featured more than 30 Caribbean exhibitors from Antigua to Turks & Caicos, and included airlines, hotels and tour operators.

Performances on The Toronto Star Stage included Royal Turks & Caicos Islands 9-piece Police Force Combo and Roland Prince Quartet from Antigua & Barbuda and Royal Bahamas Police Force 17-piece ‘Pop’ Band in the morning. In the afternoon, the event showcased Christopher Laroche from Haiti, Jamesy P and Bomani from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Jerry Jerome and The Cardells, Royal Turks & Caicos Islands 9-piece Police Force Combo and Pedrito Calvo & Hilario Duran from Cuba.

Caribbean Media Marketplace

Last Thursday, 28 Caribbean exhibitors from Cuba to St. Lucia set up shop for the media at 1 King St. W.

The Caribbean Media Marketplace included booths from tourist boards, tour operators, and introduced all the officials from their respected island in the Caribbean.

Allen Chastanet, Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) spoke about the Caribbean as an innovator in the fields of art, culture and music. Chastanet also went on to speak in preparation of next year’s Caribbean Week and stated that “When we come back, we want to make the Caribbean come alive and take over the whole city.”

David Singh, CEO & Founder of Destiny Group of Companies, and a main sponsor of week’s events, thanked the crowd for a successful first Caribbean Week in Canada and said that “the Caribbean is now the frontier for business.”

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General of the CTO, ended the afternoon by talking about the diversity and harmony that exists between all the Caribbean islands and encouraged guests to explore everything the Caribbean has to offer.

The 175-person event spanned two rooms and ended with a free trip giveaway with Caribbean Airlines.
 

The Anguilla delegation: Sherille Hughes, Manager, Paradise Cove Resort; Marie Walker, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch, Director of Tourism; Honorable Donna Banks, Special Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism; Honorable Victor Banks, Minister of Finance, Economic Development, Investment, Commerce & Tourism	The Jamaican delegation: David Singh, Sandra Scott, Director, Jamaica Tourist Board(JTB) Canada; Basil Smith, Director, JTB; Dan Hamilton, District Sales Manager, Canada
Bruce Slade from Intair	Nancy Abbott, Occidental Resorts
Carolyn G. James, St. Kitts Tourism Authority; Yvette Jackson, Nevis Tourism Authority
Beancho Harvey Joseph, Turks & Caicos Executive Board; Kayla Lightbourne, PR Officer, Turks & Caicos Tourist Board	Jonathan Cowley, GM, Canada & Nazie Mohammed, Sales Executive for Caribbean Airlines
Alison Theodore, Regional Marketing Manager Canada - St. Lucia Tourism Board	Gail Stewart, Stewart Communications and Harriette Smith, Business Development Manager, Barbados Tourism Authority
Jocelyn Sylvester-Gairy, Director of Tourism, Grenada, with Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization
Sunny Montgomery, Director, Puerto Rico Tourism Company, with Niki Hirschmann, Edelman  Karen Puebla, Executive Assistant, with Cuban cigar roller Luis Miguel Diza Sanchez, President, Gran Caribe Hotel Group, with Carlos Zambrano, Director, Cuba Tourist Board
Lana Lubon, St. Lucia tourist board, at Caribbean Fair	Barbados booth at the Caribbean Fair
Nancy Abbott from Occidental Hotels	Jamaica booth at Caribbean Fair
The Sunwing Vacations booth at Caribbean Fair	Band members taking a break
Caribbean Week was put on by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).	Jamagination booth at Caribbean Fair
Transat Holidays staff at the Caribbean Fair	Anguilla booth at the Caribbean Fair
Maureen Wright at Grenada booth	Signature Vacations' booth at Caribbean Fair
Susan Webb, of VoX communications, the representative of the CTO in Canada