Tourism Launches $700,000 Supplemental Campaign In Effort To Spur Visits To Territory

The United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism is going to market in full force to counter reports of softening demand for Caribbean travel, a press release DOT recently issued makes known.

DOT Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty announced a robust marketing program, including $300,000 in national television advertising on CNN and CNN’s Headline News over the next six weeks. This advertising campaign, which began this week, will reach thousands of households across the nation, according to the release.

This new round of advertising also supports the Department’s sales team’s efforts at this month’s New York Times Travel Show and the upcoming Boston Globe Travel Show, where travel agents and consumers receive firsthand information about the territory’s unique offerings.

“We have to be more aggressive with our marketing strategies to further increase awareness and drive travel to the territory,” Mrs. Nicholson-Doty said, explaining that her team has hit the road to promote the territory’s offerings after an unseasonably warm start to the winter season in key markets.

In addition to the advertising campaign, DOT has dedicated $175,000 in booking incentives, with a 7th free night offer provided by participating hotels. The combined incentives, which will be sold through major tour operator partners, are valued at $300,000. An additional $60,000 will go towards a cooperative advertising campaign via the tour operator community.

The entire marketing investment is more than $700,000.

The goal of the promotion, which is expected to yield a return on investment of 6:1, is to generate more than 3,000 room nights.

The Commissioner said the USVI will take this message to the 2016 edition of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, taking place in The Bahamas this week. The two-day event provides an arena for tourism suppliers to meet face-to-face with wholesalers from around the world selling Caribbean vacation travel, as well as opportunities for members of the media to hear updates and new developments from participating destinations.

Mrs. Nicholson-Doty explained that plans also include meeting with the media, travel agents and meeting planners in Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and New York in the upcoming weeks, along with the execution of a strong social media strategy to drive engagement and interest in the U.S. Virgin Islands.