Positive Developments for Tourism in Saba

September 27th 2016, is World Tourism Day, and as a part of this special day, we would like to highlight some positive developments in the tourism industry of Saba.

In August, a Tourism Action Plan was finalized, which outlined goals for the upcoming two years in this industry. Already there has been progress on these goals. A new brochure, designed by Malachy Magee, has been completed for Saba, and will be distributed to St. Maarten and St. Barths during October and November.

A fact finding trip to St. Barths is being arranged for early November, with the aim of building a stronger relationship between the islands. In the upcoming months there will be a promotional campaign, with the intention of generating more touristic traffic between St. Barths and Saba.

The Saba Tourist Bureau continues to maintain an up-to-date website, which also acts as the main hub for Saba, with links to most other websites on island. A recent analysis shows that the success of this website continues to increase, with the number of unique visitors being more each year. In 2014 there were 123,085 unique visitors to the website, in 2015 there were 167,613 and already for 2016 there were 142,198 unique visitors, indicating that this year we will again see an increase.

Beyond the website, the Saba Tourist Bureau has been increasingly active on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. As was outlined in the Tourism Action Plan, there will also be further trainings in digital marketing. These sessions will include training in Search Engine Optimization, Google Analytics and Social Media Marketing.

There have also been some exciting new attractions added to Saba’s yearly Calendar of Events. These events include a bi-annual Saba Restaurant Week in April and September, Taste of Saba in June and the Saba Lobster Fest in October. Other popular events in Saba include Sea & Learn in October and the Saba Hell’s Gate Triathlon in January. More events are also in the planning stages and will be added to the calendar after they are finalized.

The positive developments in Saba’s tourism industry can be contributed to the joint efforts of the private sector and the Public Entity, both of whom will continue to work towards building Saba’s product and creating an “Island Adventure” that appeals to many.

Commissioner of Tourism, Bruce Zagers, would like to wish everyone within the tourism industry a Happy World Tourism Day and he would also like to thank all stakeholders for their support, their many new initiatives and their commitment to enhancing the Saban tourism product.

Press release GIS.