Monday, April 18, 2016

Leslie Salmon (right) of Food Brokerage Services Limited in Antigua inquires about a product from one of Serge Island’s representatives.

WHEN Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) took the decision to expand this year’s staging of Expo Jamaica, Berletta Henlon Forrester, market development manager at the agency with responsibility for the buyer recruitment programme at the expo, said it was a leap of faith.

Today that leap of faith paid off as the feedback from buyers and the public shows that the expo surpassed its expectations.

Henlon Forrester said: “Expo Jamaica is held every two years. As an organising committee — JMA (Jamaica Manufacturers Association), JEA (Jamaica Exporters Association) and JAMPRO looked at what worked, and recommendations were on the table from previous expos. One of the first things we made a decision on was expanding the show, because every year we are oversubscribed when it comes to boothes,

[at the] last minute people are begging and pleading for a space. We took the decision early to expand to the National Indoor Sports Centre. That was kind of a leap of faith — you go out there, take on additional space and expenses, hoping you will full it. We reached out to the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association and the Jamaica Tourist Board to engage them in bringing ‘experience Jamaica’ to the show. Plus, we also decided to look at new features as it’s an ever-evolving show, and at every staging we want to bring something fresh because we have repeat buyers.”

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Expansion-of-Expo-Jamaica-pays-off_58022