The Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) and the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association (AHATA) are pleased to announce that the Aruba Global Travel Conference 2024 was a resounding success. The conference took place on our island from September 17th to 20th and culminated in a special celebration on Renaissance Island.
This second Aruba Global Travel Conference (AGTC) brought together a total of 67 participants from the U.S., Canada, Latin America (Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Paraguay), and Europe (the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany). Many other partners, including hotels, were also present to showcase their offerings.
This is the second time that ATA has combined the key markets for our island—North America, Latin America, and Europe—into a single week. For decades, each market has been addressed separately through their conferences held on the island. A lot has changed in the world of tourism, and ATA launched a ‘global’ conference last year where all regions are represented.
Throughout the week, participants and partners in the tourism world enjoyed productive exchanges. The program began on Monday evening with an opening ceremony, followed by key presentations on Tuesday morning during the Aruba Global Travel Conference, where ATA focused on strengthening collaboration among tourism leaders and shared the future of Aruba’s tourism industry and its evolution, which is directed toward introducing more action in line with the concepts of “Responsible Tourism” and “Regenerative Tourism.”
Among other topics, attention was given to “The Aruba Effect”—the evolution of the promotion and international communication strategy for Aruba. ATA will continue to base its strategy on attracting high-value visitors. It aims to stabilize growth in the number of ‘stayovers’ to proportionally attract more visitors who not only seek economic benefits but also value “Responsible Tourism,” which contributes to our economy, respects our culture and environment, and protects Aruba. Stabilization will be a gradual process, reaching a point of no further growth. “Protect It” will become an integral part of the strategy.
The program continued with a Tourism Marketplace for the Latin American market and the program for the North American and European markets continued the next day. During this interactive event, participants met with local executives in tourism. The Tourism Marketplace featured participation from more than 35 local partners, including hotels, tour companies, and other tourism operators. Each of these partners had space for 20 meetings per day with international executives, providing an opportunity to explore business prospects and establish lasting relationships.
In addition to the scheduled meetings, international invitees enjoyed various experiences around our island and conducted ‘site inspections’ at different properties. This way, they were equipped with valuable information about future developments and tourism products in Aruba.
The response to the second edition of the Aruba Global Travel Conference has been extremely positive, both from local stakeholders and international participants, including several who visited Aruba for the first time. ATA is optimistic that this week served as an important platform to help our island achieve its goals, create new opportunities, and enrich our tourism markets.
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