Jamaica voted tops in Canada
Published:Thursday | July 1, 2010 | 12:00 AM
For the fifth consecutive year, Canadian travel agents have voted the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) as the Favourite Tourist Board in Canadian Travel Press and Travel Courier's 11th annual Agents' Choice Awards.
Jamaica was also voted Favourite Honeymoon Destination for the second time in a row, ahead of Mexico.
"It is wonderful for our travel partners to bestow on us these awards again," said John Lynch, director of tourism and chairman of the JTB. "We appreciate the kind vote of confidence which is a reflection of the strength of the partnership we have developed over the years. We will continue to work hard to help them sell Jamaica to Canadians."
The JTB's Canadian office has spent significant time fulfilling their mandate to visit and collaborate with as many agents in their offices as possible. The team has also facilitated numerous familiarisation trips for agents, participated in conventions and shows (including numerous bridal shows) and increased the frequency of their agents' update, Island Vibrations, to quarterly on-line publication.
Large publisher
Baxter Travel Media is the largest travel trade publisher in the Canadian marketplace. The company publishes two weekly magazines, Canadian Travel Press and Travel Courier, as well as frequent online publications.
Nearly 4,000 travel agents across Canada voted in a readership survey which was conducted between February and March. This survey is considered the largest sampling of travel agents' opinions in Canada and consists of 23 categories, surveying agents on both Canadian and international destinations. Agents are asked to select their top three favourite travel suppliers in various categories with votes weighted accordingly, three points for a first-place vote, two for a second and one for a third.
In the Favourite Tourist Board category, the Jamaica Tourist Board's score was more than five times that of the second-placed competitor. In the Favourite Honeymoon Destination category, Jamaica scored more than twice the second-placed competitor.