"Save Me a Room for Cricket" Promotion a Hit with Regional Cricket Fans

Two lucky regional cricket fans were the winners of the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority’s, ‘Save Me a Room for Cricket’ promotion. Quaysi Prescod, from Trinidad & Tobago and Natasha Gray, from Barbados were the two lucky winners of the promotion, which was launched regionally in the month of February 2014. West Indies cricket fans were invited to win a chance to experience the WICB cricket ODI matches held in Antigua, February, 28th, March, 2nd, & 5th, 2014.

The winners won themselves a free trip to Antigua, along with free accommodation, and tickets to watch the WICB cricket. The concept behind the promotion came about due to the good occupancy figures projected by the destination’s hotels.

ABTA Marketing Manager Charmaine Spencer explained, “In planning for the WICB cricket matches, we noticed that we were having difficulty in securing rooms for some of our guests, as a number of the larger hotels on island were all indicating that they were fully booked. In light of this, the ABTA decided that we would create a ‘buzz’ throughout the region and offer West Indies cricket fans the chance to win a trip to Antigua to attend cricket.”

In order to enter the promotion, participants were asked to ‘LIKE’ the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Facebook page and post ‘SAVE ME A ROOM FOR CRICKET.’ The promotion was based online but was also marketed regionally via radio on the Caribbean Super Station (CSS), via TV on the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) and online via the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Social Media pages.

The campaign generated great interest and response, and saw avid West Indies cricket fans vying for a chance to win the free trip. The ‘Save Me a Room for Cricket’ promotion, in conjunction with strong social media marketing, saw the number of followers on the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism facebook increase from approximately 25,000 at the start of the promotion to over 40,000 ‘LIKES’ by its completion.

The promotion was sponsored by the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, LIAT – The Caribbean Airline, Grand Royal Antigua Resort and WICB.