Paul Cohen
Travel marketing expert Paul Cohen will provide Caribbean and international tourism stakeholders with the key ingredients needed to increase business from major emerging markets during a presentation at the State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) in Martinique in on Friday 18 October.
Mr. Cohen, who is the vice-president of the US-based travel services company, Optriant, will focus specifically on the so-called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations He is expected to analyze current trends in international travel, advise how those looking to penetrate these emerging markets can measure results and reveal the secrets to understanding these growing markets and expectations of the travellers.
“International travel is expected to reach a new all-time high in 2014 and the growth is driven by emerging markets,” Mr. Cohen said. “China, Russia and Brazil are growing markets but which of these are ready to visit the Caribbean? Does our destination have the tourism product available that these travellers are looking for?”
An innovator in assisting tourism marketing organizations, travel suppliers, and corporate partners solve problems and generate results, the Optriant executive will also share information on when nationals from these emerging markets travel, what they want in a destination and how they go about researching and booking travel.
“Destinations looking to attract visitors from these markets must also have basic information about these travellers, including age, income level, average spend and travel behaviours,” he said, adding that Caribbean countries must determine whether they have the tourism product that these travellers are looking for.
A division of Preferred Hospitality Group, Optriant is a leading global provider of representation, reservations, and consultation services for tourism board and travel-related companies. Tapping into the collective expertise and reputation of Preferred Hospitality Group and its network of more than 210 professionals in 24 global offices, Optriant supports its clients with comprehensive sales, marketing, and distribution solutions.
The theme for the State of the Industry Conference is “Perfecting the Experience. Delivering Authenticity.” The annual conference which brings together tourism professionals, academics, researchers, policy-makers and journalists is organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization in conjunction with the Martinique Tourism Bureau.
The State of the Industry conference will be held from 15-18 October. It will be preceded by the CTO business meetings – including meetings of the CTO Board of Directors and the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism.
For more information on how you can register and learn more about the conference, visit www.onecaribbean.org
