Hotelbeds, the world’s leading bedbank, has today announced a new collaboration with Samoa Tourism Authority to drive in-bound tourism to the Pacific island in particular from Australia and New Zealand, while long-haul, international travel restrictions remain in place.
The campaign will focus on introducing Samoa as a tourist destination to travel trade buyers in Australia and New Zealand, highlighting the Pacific island’s greatest attractions, including its beautiful landscapes, genuine hospitality and breath-taking adventure travel options. In addition, its proximity to Australia and New Zealand is another major selling point especially in the current context of long-haul travel restrictions.
The campaign, which runs from the end of May to September, will appear in Hotelbeds’ two main distribution channels, Bedsonline, targeting retail travel agencies, and Hotelbeds, focused on wholesale distribution.
As part of this deal, Hotelbeds’ Sourcing team in the region will contract more hotels in Samoa and negotiate exclusive rates to support the campaign which will then be accessible to the companies’ extensive network of buyers in Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
Gareth Matthews, Marketing, Communications & CSR Director at Hotelbeds, commented: “We are very pleased to finally be able to launch this partnership with the Samoa Tourism Authority that was initiated in early 2020 but placed on hold due to COVID. We have remained in constant contact with Samoa throughout the pandemic and we are happy that conditions are now right to be able to help them fuel their recovery efforts.
“This campaign will also enable us to capture the pent-up demand from our Australian and New Zealand travel trade customers, while helping to educate them on this beautiful destination. This partnership will also ensure that we extend our portfolio of hotel properties, contracted under special conditions in the country and make them available to more than 60,000 travel trade buyers worldwide, while also securing exclusive promotional rates for our Australia and NZ clients.
Fa’amatuainu Lenata’i Suifua, Chief Executive Officer for Samoa Tourism Authority, added: “Samoa Tourism Authority is delighted to enter into a partnership with Hotelbeds. This has been a strategic decision for us as we believe there will be a huge demand for international travel when borders are eased. We feel that Hotelbeds is able to help us achieve a wide reach and educate those that are considering a trip to our beautiful country. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with them!”
Source: Hotelbeds
