Virtual World Internet, https://www.virtualworldinternet.com/ has created the first immersive digital twin of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, opening the region’s flagship travel trade event to a global audience 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
For the first time in its 44-year history, Caribbean Travel Marketplace can now be experienced virtually.
Virtual World Internet has unveiled a permanent digital twin of this year’s CHTA Caribbean Travel Marketplace, giving travel and tourism professionals the chance to explore the event long after the final meeting has taken place.
The initiative marks a significant step for the Caribbean’s most important business-to-business tourism event, transforming a four-day gathering into an always-on showcase for the region’s destinations, hotels, resorts, tourism suppliers and industry partners.
Hosted in Antigua and Barbuda from May 12-15, 2026, the 44th edition of Caribbean Travel Marketplace brought together the region’s tourism leadership with global buyers, suppliers, media and industry stakeholders. CHTA describes Marketplace as the Caribbean’s largest marketing event, connecting Caribbean suppliers with global buyers, while this year’s edition included nearly 800 delegates, 173 suppliers from 25 Caribbean destinations, and 83 buyer companies from 16 international markets.
The event also came at an important moment for Caribbean tourism. The 2026 Caribbean Travel Trends Report, unveiled during Caribbean Travel Forum in Antigua, pointed to a new strategic phase for the region, with growth increasingly focused on diversifying demand, attracting higher-value travellers, and unlocking business outside traditional peak periods.
Against that backdrop, the virtual experience gives CHTA Marketplace a new layer of commercial reach.
Visitors can move through the event remotely, explore exhibitor spaces, revisit key areas and experience the atmosphere of Marketplace from anywhere in the world. For buyers, suppliers and partners unable to attend in person, the digital twin provides an immediate way to engage with the event. For those who were there, it creates a permanent record and a powerful follow-up tool.
Gary Summerhill of Virtual World Internet said: “CHTA Marketplace has always been about connection, visibility and opportunity. By creating a permanent digital twin of the event, we are extending that value far beyond the show floor. This means Marketplace can now be experienced 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by buyers, partners, media and tourism professionals anywhere in the world.
“For the Caribbean travel and hospitality sector, this is a world first. It turns a live event into an enduring digital asset, one that continues to promote the region, its destinations and its businesses long after the physical event has closed.”
Virtual tours are playing an increasingly important role in travel, hospitality and events marketing. Matterport, the spatial data and digital twin platform, says immersive 3D tours can help hotels, resorts and venues bring spaces to life online, improve engagement and allow guests or clients to explore before making decisions. Matterport also cites significantly higher engagement from immersive 3D experiences in travel and hospitality.
For events such as CHTA Marketplace, the benefits are clear. A digital twin can support post-event sales activity, help exhibitors extend the life of their investment, give sponsors additional visibility, and allow destinations to showcase their presence to teams, trade partners and stakeholders who could not travel.
It also strengthens accessibility. International buyers, travel advisors, media and tourism boards can revisit the event at their own pace, share the experience internally, and use the virtual environment as a sales, training and familiarisation tool.
Virtual World Internet is a world leader in Matterport technology for the travel and tourism industry. The company has created more than 100,000 virtual tours for some of the world’s biggest hospitality, destination and venue brands, helping clients turn physical spaces into immersive digital experiences.
Its work across the tourism sector reflects a wider shift in how destinations and hospitality brands are using digital twins, both as marketing assets and as practical tools for sales, planning, operations and engagement.
Summerhill added: “The future of tourism marketing is immersive, accessible and always available. A digital twin gives events, destinations and hospitality brands a new way to tell their story, reach new audiences and keep generating value every day of the year.”
Click the link below to experience the virtual tour of CHTA Marketplace.
Complete Virtual Tour of the show https://discover.matterport.com/space/ycaFAva8f5T
