Days into his new role as director of tourism, Canada for Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA), Colin Skerritt met with the trade yesterday (July 5) for an industry event focused on the twin-island destination.

“Our focus really is maximizing the opportunity we have through partnerships with the airlines – Air Canada Vacations and WestJet Vacations, Air Canada and WestJet – to strengthen those partnerships and bring not just a cost-effective product, but the right type of product to the Canadian traveller,” Skerritt told PressToday, adding that his newly-created position was previously held from a North American perspective.

In the coming months, Skerritt says the organization will implement a rebranding strategy as well as incentives tailored to Canadian agents.

“We want to make sure that every agent in the market understands the Antigua and Barbuda product, understands what we offer and at different tiers,” he says. “People have had a lot of exposure to what we call the standard locations and they’re looking for something new and I think that’s Antigua because of all the efforts that we’re putting into re-gentrifying our product.”

The event also served as the Canadian premiere of Music Voyager: Antigua & Barbuda, a music and travel TV series.

“Our objective is to increase visibility and prominence of Antigua and Barbuda in Canada,” says Colin C. James, CEO of the ABTA. “With a new airport, increased opportunities for airlift and multiple new properties on the horizon, it is an exciting time to take on this role and Colin’s experience makes him the most qualified to achieve these goals.”