PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has secured four USA Today newspaper ad insertions in the coming weeks to promote St. Maarten as a top vacation destination.
The marketing initiative is a direct result of SHTA’s association with Visit St. Maarten in-room magazine and publisher North South Net International.
In addition, the initiative coincides with and reinforces the ongoing Expedia and TripAdvisor marketing campaigns for St. Maarten, which are the largest booking sites in the world.
The SHTA “Save the summer” suggested plan, which had recommendations for online campaigns within, played an integral part in the realisation of the current TripAdvisor/Expedia campaign. The association developed the plan into a public/private collaboration which has been embraced by the Ministry of Tourism. The campaign is designed to boost visitor numbers, especially during the traditional “slow season” which started in May, and will run for 12 months.
In addition to the TripAdvisor/Expedia campaign, the SHTA has arranged for ads to be placed in the USA Today newspaper during the months of June and July to encourage travellers to visit the destination and to support the current Expedia/TripAdvisor campaign. A total of four ads will be published with a “Book now” call to action which directs people to a special St. Maarten page on Expedia:
www.expedia.com/SXM .
SHTA has received preliminary results that revenues and room night bookings have shown year over year improvement since the start of the TripAdvisor/Expedia campaign. The association looks forward to receiving a full performance overview after 90 days from the start in order to determine the overall success of the initiative.