Digital marketers, content creators and social media influencers may be the boost that struggling economies of tourism-reliant islands like Jamaica, St. Lucia and Bermuda need to recover from devastating effects like the pandemic and natural disasters.
In 2019, the travel industry in the United States spent 6.09 billion U.S dollars on digital advertising. Due to the pandemic, the sector digital ad spend in 2020 decreased by 51 percent. Now that the industry has re-opened for business, independent marketers hope to re-capture the interest of tourists with creative marketing surrounding FOMO or “the fear of missing out.”
“Our goal is to curate content highlighting Caribbean business owners, vendors and aerial
images of the islands we call home using digital platforms,” said Yannick Jackson, owner of TFG365Guide.com.
Robust digital ad campaigns on Meta, Google and Bing are already being utilized by island-style hotel chains like Couples Jamaica and Playa Hotels & Resorts in Central America and the Caribbean.
“Digital ads play a vital role in securing direct bookings for tourist destinations,” said Joshua
Senatus, the digital ad specialist whom Couples Jamaica contracted. Couples Jamaica, which operates four resorts on the island, including Ocho Rios and Negril, received an 8X return on their own digital ad spend during the 2022 season.“People want to be called into an experience. Beautiful views, villas, people having fun in the water. The fear of missing out is very powerful,” said Senatus.
Last year, TFG365365Guide.com joined forces with Jamaican photographer Sheldon Levene whose drone photography and videography have captured the most picturesque areas in Jamaica’s famous tourist destinations like Ocho Rios and Negril but also the isle’s best-kept secrets. “I want to make a contribution to tourism,” said Levene, who resides in Kingston, Jamaica. “The more persons who travel to Jamaica help to grow the economy and that opens doors to more jobs in tourism.”
Several local businesses from farmers to coconut vendors, received 10x exposure and
engagement after the companies shared organic “down-home” videos of their business
activities on our digital platforms. Their newest joint effort, “From the Islands to the World,” is about their collaboration to boost economic growth on the islands using digital platforms.
Background music in the film includes the songs "Faith" by Andre Barracks featuring Craigory Dunn and "Powered Footsteps" by Chevy Palm.
Once the documentary is released, a portion of the proceeds will be used to train low-income vendors and youth on utilizing digital platforms to grow their businesses.
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