“I’m Ready To Go”
If you ask Angella Bennett whether she’s had time to settle in as she takes on her new post as the Jamaica Tourist Board’s regional director – Canada, she’ll smile and tell you that she was appointed on April 1, arrived in Canada on April 7 and was hard at work on April 8, observing: “I’m settled. [Canada] is such a familiar market … and I’m ready to go.”
In fact, during the course of this past week, Bennett has been joined here by the JTB’s director of tourism, Donovan White and the deputy director of tourism – the Americas, Donnie Dawson, as well as the JTB’s district sales manager here, Dan Hamilton, for a bit of a whirlwind series of meetings to introduce her to Jamaica’s key travel trade partners in Canada.
Bennett is no stranger to the Canadian market, she’s “familiar with the big four players” here and brings over 20 years of industry experience to her new job, having worked in markets that include Canada, the US, Europe, Latin America and Jamaica during that time.
During a visit to Baxter Media’s offices in Toronto, Bennett made it clear that she’s ready to go, telling Press Today: “Canada remains the second largest market for Jamaica” and she’s clearly determined to make sure this market continues to grow.
Asked how the meetings with Jamaica’s Canadian partners are going, Bennett said that the “conversations are positive” and “we’re getting an update on their plans” for the upcoming spring and summer seasons.
And speaking of plans, while Bennett plans to continue taking care of the mass market business that Jamaica has coming out of Canada, she’s also got her eye on generating more luxury and other niche business as well as building up Jamaica’s MICE traffic.
“We’re doing well with leisure groups,” Bennett said, “and we want to build on that [success] going forward.”
Stay tuned, there will certainly be more to come from the JTB’s new regional director here in Canada.
In the photo
Seen during their visit to Baxter Media’s offices in Toronto yesterday afternoon, from l to r, are Dan Hamilton, district sales manager for the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB); Baxter Media’s executive vice-president, Wendy McClung; Donnie Dawson, the JTB’s deputy director of tourism – the Americas; the JTB’s new regional director – Canada, Angella Bennett; and the JTB’s director of tourism, Donovan White.
