Caribbean to launch campaign to kick-start bookings
A major marketing campaign is set to launch in a few weeks designed to entice holidaymakers back to the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma.
Hoteliers and specialist tour operators to the region are being asked to come up with special discounts for a period of time to encourage bookings.
They are also being asked to donate a percentage of their sales to the recovery fund to help the islands hit by the hurricane.
Frank Comito, CEO and director general of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, said he hopes the campaign will also help raise awareness of the actual impact of the hurricane.
"We want to make sure people – agents, operators and their customers – fully understand the geography of the region and the facts around what’s been impacted and what hasn’t," he said.
"In fact, 70% of the Caribbean was not severely impacted and is open for business. Of those islands which were directly hit, some are already cleaning up and re-opening."
Comito, who has been in London to speak to partners about the recovery efforts, said even the islands not affected by the hurricane were suffering cancellations and a dip in bookings.
"There is a lack of understanding out there and still lots of people who don’t know how expansive the region is," he added.
He advised agents and operators to keep up to date with developments on a special website,, www.caribbeantravelupdate.com set up earlier this month, to clearly show the status of each destination.
The website is being constantly updated as the recovery and rebuilding progresses.
Comito said World Travel Market in November would also be a good opportunity for the Caribbean to update the UK travel trade.
"By that time, there’ll be an opportunity to share some good news and also to talk about some of the challenges," he said.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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