Oranjestad, Aruba – In a move that exemplifies AHATA’s continued proactive approach toward the meetings market, Jorge Pesquera, President and CEO of AHATA, announced that a “Representation and Cooperation Agreement” has been reached with the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC), providing Aruba with nation-wide sales coverage and a range of other marketing support services that will catapult the destination’s presence in the North American market. Pesquera: “With this move, our members will be getting a major boost in terms of marketing presence and we are living up to our promise of being a leading marketing advocate for Aruba’s tourism industry.”
At a signing ceremony held in Aruba, Jorge Pesquera and Conrad van Tiggelen, Director, North America for the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, had this to say:
“We are delighted to have reached this agreement, the first one of its kind for any Caribbean and European destination on the North American market, in which two highly professional, entrepreneurial destination marketing organizations join forces for their mutual benefit.”
Scott Wiggins, Executive Director of MEET ARUBA, the group marketing division of AHATA entrusted with spearheading AHATA’s group sales and marketing efforts, said: “NBTC’s well established reputation in destination marketing and convention sales is a perfect complement to our excellent sales team. They have over 30 years of experience in this business and will be able to provide MEET ARUBA with immediate professional representation in the north east, mid-west and west coast of the United States. We are confident that the NBTC will be a great counterpart in delivering group leads and definite bookings to our members. MEET ARUBA will provide them with the tools and the motivation to become an integral part of our team.”
Conrad van Tiggelen, Director, North America for NBTC added: “We are extremely pleased with this agreement. It shows our entrepreneurial spirit and our ability to think outside the box in offering and executing services, which do not distract us from our mission of marketing Holland, but rather compliment our strategy in the US. Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and we feel honored to provide representation, sales, and public relations support to MEET ARUBA, a destination that has stood out from the rest in the Caribbean. Our entire team is looking forward to this challenge.”
AHATA has other reasons to celebrate these days, having surpassed the milestone of 100 members for the first time as well as the grand finale of its 40th anniversary celebrations which will be taking place on Friday, November 4th, at the Annual Tourism Conference Aruba (ATCA). At that event, AHATA will be honoring ten pioneers of the industry and re-launching recognition awards for employee, supervisor and general manager of the year.
The NBTC has over the last 30 years changed from a traditional National Tourism Office into a professional sales-, marketing-, and PR-driven company. NBTC is a goal oriented organization, committed to providing a positive ROI to each partner who invests in its services. NBTC has been present on the North American MCI market for many years, executing a pro-active sales and marketing strategy. This resulted in a Top 10-ranking for Holland as a destination for International Meetings and Conventions.
