PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau will continue marketing campaigns with Expedia, which will be launching June 30, 2023, in the United States and Canada until March 31, 2024. Many travelers turn to OTAs (Online Travel Agents) throughout their purchasing journey for trip inspiration, planning, or booking. The objective of the campaign is to promote the destination to the United States and Canada markets with the aim to continue to inspire, engage, and convert travel consumers to book a trip to the island by leveraging Expedia’s extensive product portfolio. The marketing campaign is conducted online, consisting of search results banners, homepage native ads, and display banner ads on Expedia’s platform. The methodology is used to maximize traffic to the dedicated destination landing page, providing travel consumers with the opportunity to book their trip, as well as view inspiring content about places to stay and things to do while on the island.
Bookings to St. Maarten from Expedia grew by up to 15% during the campaign period (September 22nd, 2022, to March 31st, 2023) compared to the same period the previous year.
"Sint Maarten remains one of the top destinations in the Caribbean for North American travelers, and with rising travel intent, lengthening search windows and a lift in international searches, things are shaping up to be a year of sustained growth. As one of the world's leading travel platforms, we are thrilled to continue our partnership with St. Maarten Tourism Bureau, helping connect the island's tourism industry to millions of travelers in Expedia Group’s worldwide network," Jennifer Andre, Vice President, Expedia Group Media Solutions.
Some of the private sector stakeholders are also running campaigns simultaneously with the destination campaign. According to Ricardo Perez, General Manager of the Oyster Bay Beach Resort: “Having this destination kickoff once again will hopefully support the efforts of individual properties. For example, at Oyster Bay Beach Resort we launched our campaign at the end of March and will run it up until September 30, 2023. Having the destination investing at the same time should boost the summer business and beyond”. Holland House Beach Hotel General Manager Paul Boetekees adds: “We have been contributing and running our own Expedia campaign, offering great value to our guests, and we were recently awarded a 4-star status and are part of the VIP program, which I believe will enhance the destination campaign and position St. Maarten better in the market”.
The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau will continue to collaborate with OTAs, tour operators, and airlines in addition to carrying out other marketing activities to further increase destination awareness and stimulate bookings that may result in positive economic value for the island.
“We believe that ongoing campaigns with Expedia and other OTAs, will continue to give St. Maarten the best ROI and growth in bookings,” says Director of Tourism, May-Ling Chun. “The objective is to continue growing our public private partnership, as we feel that this will result in an increase of awareness to the destination”.
