PHILIPSBURG-- The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau together with the St. Martin Tourism Office jointly launched a Digital Postcard Social Media campaign to bring positive awareness to the destination by showcasing inspiring photos of the island together with thoughtful messages, while encouraging persons to stay at home during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many are immobile and dependent on digital means to stay connected. Therefore, the Digital Postcard Social Media Campaign encourages everyone to reconnect with places and people by reminiscing on sunnier moments on the island and by sharing those photos with the dedicated hashtag #MySXMPostcardMoment,” it was stated in a press release on Thursday evening.
Both tourism offices continue to echo the important message to “stay home,” but also want to remind and inspire persons of the endless beauty of the island during these unprecedented times where travel and personal encounters has been restricted.
By launching the Digital Postcard Social Media campaign, both tourism offices aim to stimulate sharing of memorable moments by locals and past visitors alike by the use of the dedicated hashtag #MySXMPostcardMoment. A custom-made Facebook frame was also created for this campaign for those that would like to highlight their memorable postcard moment as their Facebook profile picture. This campaign will be carried out on both tourism offices official destination Facebook and Instagram pages under the usernames @DiscoverSaintMartin and @VacationStMaarten.
Anyone can participate in the campaign and share their postcard worthy moments experienced on the island. To do so, one should first choose a desired photo that highlights a special moment, then upload the photo to Facebook and or Instagram using the dedicated #MySXMPostcardMoment hashtag. A selection of chosen photos will be highlighted on both tourism offices official destination Facebook and Instagram pages which are “Discover Saint Martin” and “Vacation St. Maarten.”
“Across the globe, people are at home and as a result are on social media more than ever. People are actively seeking positive stories, and opportunities to share them. As a fun and interactive method of communicating, we are sharing ‘digital postcards’, from our dual-nation destination to encourage people to share the best places and moments they have experienced on the island. While we cannot physically visit these wonderful places, we can highlight beloved spots and activities to inspire visitors and locals alike. In times like this where we are called upon to stay home and reflect, we can post, and share ‘digital postcards’ with our best photos and moments by adding #MySXMPostcardMoment to your post," said Director of Tourism, St Martin Tourist Office Aida Weinum.
“We want to take people back to happier moments that were experienced on the island, and encourage them to share these moments on social media. Right now, we are all immobilized. Therefore, if we cannot go to our favorite local spots, we want to bring this to you at home by means of the ‘digital postcards’. This way we can spread positivity and reconnect people to the island, while also spreading the important message to stay home and stay safe. We want to remind our visitors that the destination and it’s untouched beauty will be waiting to welcome them again, and to keep us in mind for future travel plans,” added Director of Tourism at the St Maarten Tourism Bureau May Ling Chun.
Both tourism offices will continue to collaborate on several projects to jointly achieve common goals. The Digital Postcard Social Media campaign will be one of many campaigns that will be launched together to ensure that the destination remain in the minds of travelers.
Industry experts are predicting that people will certainly travel again due to the pent-up demand accumulated by being immobile. Both tourism offices will continue to work together to ensure that marketing campaigns are ready to be launched to attract visitors to our shores once it has been deemed safe to travel again. For now, the tourism offices are encouraging everyone to stay home, stay safe and most importantly to keep the island at heart.