Philipsburg – One year after its inception, the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade association (SHTA) and the Sint Maarten Tourist Board look back at a highly successful Expedia Campaign. Combined with SHTA member figures, the SHTA/STB Expedia campaign appears to be a large attributor. The strategic partnership of both organizations and the booking website bearing fruit, makes the three organizations involved to reinforce the campaign in concordance with the new minister of TEATT.

For the hotels combined, a 32% rise of hotel nights has been realized. All figures are next to “regular’ bookings done by intermediate agents and other sites.

As websites like Expedia make use of user generated content, SHTA stresses that even though a highly successful experiment, marketing on social media is an activity that only works when consistently done. This is only a small success compared to what is possible by consistently cherishing this initiative, especially as more and more people book their trips by Expedia. The association is looking very much forward to convene with both the new minister and the tourist board how the campaign can be reinforced and continued, so Sint Maarten visitor amounts keep increasing with double digits.

As the current campaign ends in February, SHTA hopes for a speedy reinforcement in order to keep user content increasing. In the meanwhile, SHTA has already looked into various other social media providing low investment, high return and new target groups.

The SHTA is dedicated to bringing quality to all aspects of life on St. Maarten by promoting sustainable economic development for its members in cooperation with the social partners and the creation of a fair marketplace. For more information please contact our offices at +1 721 5420108, via email at office@shta.com  or visit our website at www.shta.com