This week, the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) launched its newest member service, the St. Maarten OTA index. The index is a global collection of Online Travel Agents active in the hotel, activity, restaurant and villa segments, intended to support the online presence of St. Maarten tourism companies and that of the destination as a whole.
OTAs have for quite some years taken over the worldwide lead in booking volumes from traditional tour operators and travel agents / travel advisors. According to research by GlobalData.com, the OTA market segment will represent a market value of 765 million US$ globally in 2025 and is to grow to 1.2 trillion in 2027. As strong growth is expected in this segment and tourism keeps growing in general, SHTA wants to equip its tourism members with as many tools as possible to face increasing competition and seize opportunities.
Whereas Expedia.com and Booking.com are some of the most familiar OTAs to most, the field is more multifaceted, diverse and dynamic. OTAs can be found focusing on target groups, niche segments, country, price, language or a specific purpose application (apps, websites and other). The growth of the internet and technology developments like ChatGPT and direct booking business models add to continuous changes and diversity of the sector. Many startups have entered the field, whereas mergers and takeovers also occur frequently.
Because of these market dynamics, SHTA intends to keep updating the OTA Index with new entries and opportunities whenever they occur. SHTA will also continue to invite OTA representatives to the St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART), next to traditional providers, to further reinforce business opportunities for local companies.
Whereas the list is intended to be a useful marketing tool for all members, SHTA especially expects the OTA index to beneficial for small hotels and tourism companies. Limited budget and personnel often prevents these entities from connecting to tour operators, travel agents and representatives of OTAs in person or visits to conferences abroad.
The OTA Index initiative is the fourth SHTA program this year to improve the competitive position of St. Maarten as a destination, especially with an eye on summer occupancy opportunities. Last year, the association created the St. Maarten Hotel & Tourism Factsheet book providing tour operators, travel agents and OTAs with facts and contacts of St. Maarten hotels, activities, vacation rental providers and shops. A second Visit St. Maarten USA Today campaign was launched in April to boost summer occupancy. The SHTA also supported a “Twice the Summer Deals” campaign with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau.
New services are partially made possible by the ongoing growth of the association regardless of the national economic challenges over the past years. The association tries to contribute to social and economic development of St. Maarten with quality of life for all St. Maarten residents as its highest goal (shta.com/vision-2025). If you are not a member yet, do not hesitate to require more information via info@shta.com.
SHTA Launches “OTA Index”
