Antigua & Barbuda Launches Summer Promotional Blitz in the U.S.

Antigua & Barbuda Launches Summer Promotional Blitz in the U.S.

The US tourism team launched its annual promotion last weekend at the Bud Light ReggaeFest in Mount Snow, Vermont, targeting avid skiers and snowboarders with a call to action: “Out of the Snow to Melt Down in the Sand.”

This three-day celebration of Caribbean music, cuisine, and culture followed record-breaking snowfall last winter, and was intended to be an ideal event to target ski enthusiasts who shelf snow-centric activities with the advent of spring and begin to make plans for a warm weather vacation experience. Each year, more than 30,000 affluent, adventurous skiers drive an average of 150 miles to ReggaeFest to enjoy the “last hurrah on the mountain before the meltdown”.

For the fourth year, Antigua & Barbuda was the exclusive destination partner at this upscale resort. The tourism team, joined by three travel agents from GOGO Travel, promoted a range of accommodations, cuisine, tours, and cultural attractions that the twin-island destination has to offer. Throughout the weekend, the joint sales team manned four booths at the two main Caribbean concerts of the Bud Light concert series.

Marketing and Sales Manager Dean Fenton described the promotion as a rousing success, citing a high level of interest in special vacation offers and discounts as the main driver in generating record levels of instant bookings. “We have steadily increased our visibility and impact over the years,” he said. “As the sole destination sponsor at this Caribbean-themed event, Antigua & Barbuda is well positioned as the ultimate getaway at the end of the winter season. Over the years, this event has generated significant leads that have led to increased bookings.”
Tourism Team Targets Vermont Skiers

Fenton added that as a result of consistent participation, prominent  outdoor and website advertising, live radio remotes, trip giveaways, and  other effective grassroots promotions, Antigua & Barbuda is now widely recognized and favorably received as a corporate partner within this ski community.

Each year leading up to the event, Antigua & Barbuda receives significant exposure via several pre-event promotions, including a six-week radio campaign on more than a dozen regional radio stations and during a live interview, when a tourism representative extends a personal invitation to all skiers on local Vermont television, RSN.

The destination also partners with the Matherhorn Inn to host a Caribbean-After-Party featuring steelband music and the culinary delights of Antiguan Chef Murphy. This local establishment, owned by local travel agent partners Joe and Wanda, has become a top entertainment hot spot, attracting skiers in search of live Caribbean entertainment, after action-packed days on the slopes.

The Mount Snow ReggaeFest is a cultural melting pot that attracts a host of journalists from television, radio, print, and online media houses throughout The North East. The event has wide regional appeal, attracting visitors from New York City, Long Island, Albany, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, some of the strongest source markets for stay-over visitors.

The Bud Light ReggaeFest, in its 13th year, has emerged as a fun-filled weekend of spring skiing, spectator-friendly events, and musical performances by reggae, calypso and other Caribbean artists. Statistics from the Mount Snow Ski Resort Management indicate that the multiplex continues to attract well-travelled patrons with disposable income.

In 2010, 60 percent of patrons reported Household Income (HHI) of more than $150,000. Some 80 percent were passport holders, and 65 percent had taken at least one trip outside the US, for business or leisure, in the past three years.