The Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office recently held a dedicated partner’s meeting for several of Antigua’s key hotel representatives in the UK, at the High Commission in London.

Primarily, the objective of the meeting was to review and assess both UK visitor arrivals and marketing efforts to date. It was also used as an opportunity to discuss positioning strategies for the off-peak and shoulder seasons and to look into long term collaborative marketing initiatives.

The meeting was attended by Phillip Dickinson from Sandals & Beaches Resorts, Andrea Millar from Rosewood Hotels representing Jumby Bay, Francesca Furci from Resort Marketing (Galley Bay, St James’s Club, Dian Bay Resort & Spa, The Verandah Resort & Spa) Helen Edwards from Essential Detail (Curtain Bluff), Jane West representing Jolly Beach Resort, Karen Fraser from Rex Resorts (Hawksbill, Halcyon Cove, Blue Heron), and Paul Kay from Pineapple Marketing representing Carlisle Bay.

In addition to a de-briefing on the ICC Cricket World Cup and talks about emerging European markets, other areas of discussion included the tourist office’s Wedding & Honeymoon campaign ‘Saying I do, is just the beginning…’ to be promoted to both the trade and consumers. The campaign will include a road show, involving Antigua and Barbuda’s hotel, tour operator and airline partners in September, which coincides with the CTO’s Caribbean Month. The campaign will be supported by advertising and PR and the tourist office will repeat last year’s extremely successful Wedding & Honeymoon FAM trip in Nov/Dec 2007.

Carol Hay, Director of Marketing for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office was delighted with the success of the meeting and the issues discussed, commenting; “it is crucial for us to meet with our partners regularly in order to receive feedback and insight into their markets.” Hay pointed out that the meeting provided a “non-competitive arena in which we could discuss possible initiatives to drive tourism to Antigua and Barbuda.”

Following on from the success of the meetings, which will now be held quarterly, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourist office will host similar meetings for the tour operator and airline partners.

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