Business View Caribbean | November 2019

9 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN NOVEMBER 2019 CTOWELCOMES JETBLUE’S CONTINUED GROWTH IN THE REGION H aving doubled its seat capacity to the Caribbean over the last decade, JetBlue is looking to expand its business footprint in the region, including through its travel booking arm, JetBlue Travel Products. Mike Pezzicola, the head of commercial for JetBlue Travel Products, presented at a recent Caribbean outlook forum organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in Antigua and Barbuda. He said JetBlue operates over 1,000 flights daily with a third of its route network in the Caribbean, and this is likely to increase as JetBlue continues to expand capacity in the years ahead. Since May 2018, JetBlue has added six additional nonstop routes to Caribbean destinations. In addition, the JetBlue official told the senior tourism policymakers and executives the company was also focused on increasing bookings of ground transportation, tours, hotels and attractions in destinations through the travel booking arm. “One thing we see is that as folks are planning to travel, when they book their travel vacation with us, and we help them plan it, their stay is longer and they are more likely to return, if not to the destination, then to another destination in the tropics,” said Pezzicola. He added that JetBlue was also focusing on improving its cooperative marketing with destinations and large resorts, while also OPENING L INES