NEW YORK— The Caribbean Hotel Association Charitable Trust (CHACT) and Expedia, Inc. have formed a partnership to encourage travel to the Caribbean via a new website, goCaribbean.com, with Expedia also providing expanded hotel choices to the region. Vacation packages, destination services and activities also are featured. Expedia, Inc.s private label solution, Worldwide Travel Exchange, will provide the booking engine, handle inbound telesales, customer support and travel inventory to the site. “The Expedia private label solution enables us to take advantage of proven technology and high-quality customer support to help those traveling to the Caribbean find great value when searching for hotels and vacation packages,” said Ralph Taylor, CHACT chairman. “The trust and its hotelier members can now benefit from utilizing this robust outlet to load inventory and generate bookings.” The initiative provides travelers with hotel and lodging at specially negotiated rates, vacation packages that combine multiple trip components (such as flights, hotels, and car rentals), as well as destination services and activities (including ground transfers and tickets for tours and attractions). “Partnering with the CHACT, which represents the diverse interests of the Caribbeans hospitality industry, enables Expedia to contribute to the Trusts mission of sustaining the strong growth of tourism in Caribbean destinations,” said Barney Harford, vp/new channel development at Expedia, Inc. Nearly 1,200 properties will have the opportunity to participate in a special rate program to provide consumers with attractive rates and bring incremental business to hoteliers. With the model, hoteliers provide wholesale inventory to Expedia, which helps sell the rooms regardless of seasonal demand fluctuations. The program also gives hoteliers the flexibility to renegotiate wholesale prices and room inventory if there is an unexpected rise or drop in room demand. Expedia will provide specialized booking access of the new CHACT site to travel agents.