It’s all good news when it comes to Grenada. Not only was the island the recent recipient of the CHTA’s Travel Marketplace’s inaugural Destination Resilience Award, but Grenada also officially kicked off its 2022-2023 cruise season with the arrival of 1,500 passengers aboard the Celebrity Summit.
Grenada Celebrates Another Year of Success with 2022 CHIEF Awards
The Destination Resilience Award was part of the 2022 CHIEF awards given out during the Caribbean Travel Forum, a new addition to the CHTA’s Travel Marketplace. Presented to the Grenada Tourism Authority and the Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association, it recognizes the destinations that used innovative, unique, and timely responses to the pandemic that led to their recovery while maintaining lives and livelihoods.
“We are extremely proud that Grenada was recognized for our hard work and innovation in mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. All our partners worked tirelessly, day and night, to maintain lives and livelihoods and ensure our destination’s recovery,” said CEO Petra Roach in a press statement.
The island had a strong showing at this year’s CHTA’s Travel Marketplace, the Caribbean’s largest tourism marketing event. “It was great to be back at CHTA Marketplace this year to meet with your industry partners,” said Randall Dolland, chairman of the Grenada Tourism Authority, in a press statement. “The GTA had a full schedule, and our destination continues to trend in the right direction. Our numbers for the upcoming season are extremely strong and 2023 has the potential to surpass 2019, our benchmark year.”
Proof positive is the incoming cruise season: according to the GTA, there are 202 cruise calls scheduled for the 2022-2023 season, which translates into an expected 377,394 visitors—a jump of 11 percent over the 2018-2019 season.
The island has been preparing to welcome your clients and help them create unforgettable memories.
“Grenada is ready for the 2022-23 cruise season. In preparation, the GTA has facilitated training and workshop sessions focused on professional development, hospitality and cultural engagement sessions aimed at enhancing service excellence,” stated Roach. “This is part of an overall strategy to ensure our tourism stakeholders, such as taxi operators, artisans and vendors are prepared for the season and will provide high-quality, culturally sound and professional services that enhance our destination marketing. Many cruise visitors are repeat visitors who choose to return to the destinations where they have had the best and most authentic experiences. Our overall growth in this sector speaks to strong consumer interest, our continued focus on expanding our product offering and our commitment to continuous product development and training for our stakeholders’ partners.”
“The cruise sector is important for Grenada as it generates substantial economic activity,” added Dolland. “The GTA is committed to improving Grenada’s product offering and increasing the number of ships and calls to our ports. In addition, we want to ensure further employment opportunities for our people.”
For more information, visit puregrenada.com.
