PHILIPSBURG:--- Sint Maarten Tourism Bureau announced the renewal of contracts with the three agencies that execute the public relations, marketing communications, and digital marketing for the destination, as of July/ August 2022.
Following the upward trend of arrivals since 2021 and with some concerning challenges with lower occupancy for the summer, the tourism bureau is pleased to work with the Marketing and PR agencies again. The marketing team will work with Diamond PR, Big Idea Advertising, and USP PR Marketing to leverage a marketing budget and strategically drive travel in target markets like the Northeast (NY, NJ, and CT), Atlanta, Charlotte, Florida, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and California. For Europe, the area of concentration will be in the Netherlands, Belgium, German-speaking markets, and Nordic Europe, also known as Scandinavia.
“We are pleased to work once more with our agencies to re-imagine our approach to advertising”, said Director of Tourism May-Ling Chun. “The agencies have expressed new trends and opportunities as the industry changes rapidly and 6 months ago is not the same as now”. “Together with our Private sector partners and stakeholders, we want to assure that we execute the right strategies that speak directly to the interest of that potential visitor” The agencies will be contacting the private sector, and a stakeholders meeting will be held in order for everyone to update the firms on their latest product and services as well as to give input on the strategies that will be decided on and assure the objectives are mutual. “These three agencies together with our Sales Representative in the U.S has been instrumental in generating awareness for the destination during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a short hiatus we are excited to kick start our promotional campaigns with the agencies, and continue to promote Sint Maarten in order to stimulate bookings,” says Gianira Arrindell, Section Head Marketing/Director of Marketing. “Several calls were already held with the agencies to discuss upcoming promotional campaigns that include highlighting the diversity and uniqueness of the island, but also promoting our upcoming festivals and events, amongst others. The promotional activities will focus on driving demand for the destination in the upcoming Fall and Winter season in collaboration with our industry partners”.
The Uniqueness of the two countries, one destination, the people, the multi-cultural aspect, island hopping and the overall experience, together with the latest products and services continues to draw visitors to the island, and that makes Sint Maarten / Saint Martin the perfect getaway.
“I am optimistic about the upcoming months and look forward to the economic boost. Sint Maarten will regain momentum and we will continue to grow its market share”, says Acting Minister of tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication (TEATT), Honorable Omar Ottley. “Public-private partnership efforts is the only effective approach in order for us to focus on the tourism product and assure its aligned with the needs of the visitors we target”.
