ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

The CEO of the ABTA, Mr. Colin James explained, “We are very excited to launch an online campaign with Expedia; by partnering with a powerhouse like Expedia we are now able to make direct contact with millions of potential visitors in the comfort of their homes. This is the type of direct marketing that we need.
Expedia is a world recognized brand and it has an unsurpassed reputation of being the leading online travel booking engine. Hence, for the ABTA this was a natural progression for our marketing portfolio, as we recognized that in order to operate in today’s global economy we must have the necessary global reach to offer our product and promote our hotels.  Through Expedia we are able to dramatically increase client contact as well as online presence and visibility”. 

 

The online campaign uses an Antigua & Barbuda landing page along with strategically placed banner advertising to promote discounted Antiguan hotel rates positioned throughout the Expedia and Hotels.com websites. When the user clicks on a campaign banner advert he/she is redirected to a listing of the local hotels offering discounted rates. In addition to taking the user directly to these offerings, the system has the capability of tracking the click-through rate of users and can also tailor future web searches based on past user history. 

 

Presently there are 32 local properties contracted to benefit from the Expedia campaign.  The AHTA has reported that in the past their hotels have seen up to a 50% increase through bookings generated by Expedia with Expedia (USA) representing 43% of bookings; 11% from Expedia (UK); 8.5% from Expedia (Italy); and 8% from Hotels.com (USA).

 

With a more structured campaign initiative in place both ABTA and the AHTA expect to see an increase in future visitor arrivals and room bookings. Initially, the online campaign will be promoted in the United States, United Kingdom and Italian markets, through Expedia.com (USA), Hotels.com (USA), Expedia UK, and Expedia Italy. Expedia has an approximate reach of 41 million consumers in the United States monthly, 8 million in the United Kingdom and 3.5 million in Italy.