Zane Kerby, third from left, accepts the Caribbean Award of Excellence from Unique Vacations executives, surrounded by Caribbean ministers of tourism on Aug. 24, 2025. Photo: Briana Bonfiglio / TMR
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) kicked off its 2025 Caribbean Showcase at Sandals South Coast in Jamaica over the weekend.
The 4th annual conference, which runs from Aug. 23 to 27, began with a rainy yet lively welcome reception on Saturday evening, followed by the first general session on Sunday. Focused on selling Caribbean travel, the event educates about 200 travel advisor attendees about ASTA, supplier partners, and the most popular Caribbean destinations – with several ministers of tourism participating.
“The Caribbean is an extremely important outbound market in the United States, and many islands are experiencing record levels of travel from the United States,” Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA, told members, noting that the event “provides a massive opportunity; you will have knowledge based on experience.”
Peter Greenberg, CBS News’ travel news editor, moderated a discussion between four of the tourism ministers that covered topics of sustainability, airlift, and experiential travel. All agreed that growing tourism sustainably is top of mind because “If we don’t preserve our product, there will be no product to sell,” Carlos James, St. Vincent’s minister of tourism, told the audience of advisors.
To this end, the ministers also spoke about the benefits of low-density tourism versus mass tourism. James said his country is not promoting mass tourism, but rather more bespoke, high-end experiences for fewer visitors.
Meanwhile, Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s minister of tourism, noted that there is a place for mass tourism in countries with larger populations that depend on it for its economy. Thanks to the travel industry, Jamaica today has its lowest unemployment rate in history.
Airlift, especially between the islands, continues to pose a challenge for the countries and is something the ministers are strategizing on, they said. Once tourists do arrive, they increasingly want to engage in “experiential travel,” a trend that the ministers said their destinations are uniquely equipped to deliver on.
“In a sense, that’s the beauty of being small. The fact that new trends suggest that tourists want more personalized experiences gives us and travel advisors more opportunity to customize what the experience should be with them,” said Dr. Ernest Hilaire, St. Lucia’s minister of tourism. “Our smallness makes us charming; it makes us appealing. There’s something you can’t find anything else in the world.”
This was only the first “fireside chat” between tourism ministers, and leaders from other Caribbean countries are scheduled to speak later in the conference.
Kerby spoke about ASTA’s mission to safeguard the travel advisor profession and the ways it aims to accomplish it: industry partnerships, government advocacy, and professional development.
Two current, key industry initiatives for ASTA are ensuring prompt commission payments and pushing back on cruise lines’ non-commissionable fees (NCFs). Kerby announced that ASTA will introduce a new function on its website that allows ASTA members to report suppliers that do not pay commissions on time or at all.
“This is a real problem in our industry, and at ASTA, we are sick and tired of slow- and no-pay suppliers,” Kerby said, noting that ASTA also plans to meet with cruise line partners to discuss eliminating NCFs.
Kerby – and later, ASTA’s advocacy team – urged the travel advisors to get involved in its government advocacy efforts, especially by attending its annual Legislative Day in October and donating to ASTAPAC.
Finally, Kerby promoted ASTA’S Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certification program, which can help advisors advance their careers. It not only provides them with valuable education but, once they become a VTA, adds their profile to ASTA’s new consumer-facing lead generation website, VeriVacation.com.
Many supplier partners with Caribbean products are attending the Caribbean Showcase to meet with advisors at Supplier Dine Arounds on the property and at Monday’s trade show. However, none loom as large as the hosting partner, Sandals Resorts International.
Gary Sadler, EVP of sales and industry relations at Unique Vacations, Sandals’ parent company, expressed his appreciation for travel advisors and drove home why they should book Sandals Resorts.
“We do pay commissions on every single thing your clients eat, drink, and do,” Sadler said, noting that advisors get bonus commissions when they upsell to higher room categories and luxury packages.
He added that ASTA’s work in maintaining high standards for the travel advisor profession has made a direct positive impact on Sandals and presented Kerby with Sandals’ Caribbean Award of Excellence.
Sales directors for suppliers such as Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Discover Puerto Rico, and Jamaica Vacations Limited also gave presentations about new product and travel advisor incentives.
Virgin Voyages’ Angela Garner, regional sales manager in West Florida, for example, said the young cruise line will soon have its largest Caribbean season yet after it debuts its newest ship, Brilliant Lady, later this year.
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