Tourism Minister Ingrid Arrindell lyrical about marketing results

GREAT BAY – Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Ingrid Arrindell, says that she is fully committed to “getting the job done” and ensuring that the upcoming high season will be “one that shows increased demand for destination Sint Maarten.”

“Tourism is our one and only economic pillar and we must do all within our power between the government and the private sector to safeguard it,” Arrindell said in a press statement. “I have received the latest report on the continued efforts of getting our marketing back on track.”

According to the minister, “Improvements continue to be made and the numbers speak for themselves. With the addition of the soon to be launched Sint Maarten Tourism Authority (STA), our opportunities are endless and getting the country back to its rightful place on the tourism map.”

Results for the period year-to-date July 2016 Expedia and TripAdvisor online marketing initiatives have shown significant increases in online bookings, Minister Arrindell disclosed.

Expedia one of the largest online booking engines and TripAdvisor the largest information site are part of an initiative by the government and the hospitality and trade association SHTA.

This initiative was launched in May 2016 to generate an increase in demand from the North American market and has shown to be extremely effective in generating bookings, the minister stated.

Information generated from Expedia indicates the following according to Minister Arrindell.

“Although there is some softness in revenue in September and December we are still seeing an overall double digit growth of +14%, with monthly growth of up to 65%. There is a tendency in hotels to lower their Average Daily Rate (ADR) in the summer months, but we still saw a positive ADR growth in June, July and August of up to 31%, and a small decrease of 4% in September.”
Source: Today SXM Tourism Minister Ingrid Arrindell lyrical about marketing results

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