A scene during the 2024 SMART business day.
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has launched its newest member service, the St. Maarten online travel agents (OTA) index.
The index is a global collection of online travel agents active in the hotel, activity, restaurant and villa segments, intended to support the online presence of St. Maarten tourism companies and that of the destination as a whole.
SHTA said in a press release that OTAs have for quite some years taken over the worldwide lead in booking volumes from traditional tour operators and travel agents/travel advisors. According to research by GlobalData.com, the OTA market segment will represent a market value of US $765 million globally in 2025 and grow to 1.2 trillion in 2027. As strong growth is expected in this segment and tourism keeps growing in general, SHTA wants to equip its tourism members with as many tools as possible to face increasing competition and seize opportunities.
According to SHTA, whereas Expedia.com and Booking.com are some of the most familiar OTAs to most, the field is more multifaceted, diverse and dynamic.
“OTAs can be found focusing on target groups, niche segments, country, price, language or a specific purpose application (apps, websites and other). The growth of the Internet and technology developments like ChatGPT and direct booking business models add to continuous changes and diversity of the sector. Many startups have entered the field, whereas mergers and takeovers also occur frequently,” SHTA said in a press release.
Because of these market dynamics, SHTA said it intends to keep updating the OTA Index with new entries and opportunities whenever they occur. SHTA also plans to continue to invite OTA representatives to the St. Maarten/St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART), in addition to traditional providers, to further reinforce business opportunities for local companies.
The list is intended to be a useful marketing tool for members. SHTA especially expects the OTA index to be beneficial for small hotels and tourism companies. Limited budget and personnel often prevents these entities from connecting to tour operators, travel agents and representatives of OTAs in person or visits to conferences abroad, SHTA said.
The OTA Index initiative is the fourth SHTA programme this year to improve the competitive position of St. Maarten as a destination, especially with an eye on summer occupancy opportunities.
Last year the association created the St. Maarten Hotel and Tourism Fact Sheet book providing tour operators, travel agents and OTAs with facts and contacts of St. Maarten hotels, activities, vacation rental providers and shops. A second Visit St. Maarten USA Today campaign was launched in April to boost summer occupancy. SHTA also supported a “Twice the Summer Deals” campaign with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau.
New services are partially made possible by SHTA’s ongoing growth of regardless of the national economic challenges over the past years. It said it tries to contribute to the social and economic development of St. Maarten, with quality of life for all St. Maarten residents as its highest goal.
