Saba recently hosted top travel media from the Netherlands and the United States. Creating more awareness and presence about Saba’s product in the North American and Dutch markets remains a priority. The public relations firms have been pitching Saba to top travel media, which also includes selecting and organizing press trips to the island.

Director of Tourism Malinda Hassell stated, “We continue to work on Saba’s exposure to key audiences and source markets, Saba is a niche destination, and together with the public relations firms, Saba continues to be pitched to travel media. Having press and fam trips organized to the island helps the journalists and trade partners experience the island personally in order to pitch stories and expose the island leading to international media coverage.”

Dutch and US Press trip

Together with the marketing firm USP, a Dutch press trip was organized as part of an island-hopping experience as journalists visited the island for one night. They represented Vrouw (High-end women’s lifestyle), and Naturescanner (Outdoor & Nature travel platform). Pien laat haar eten zien (One of the Netherlands’ biggest culinary influencers), together with a representative of the firm.

Saba also hosted a US press trip from May 19-22, 2023. The journalists were from: Travel Weekly, Forbes, Matador Network, TripSavvy & a freelancer pitching to Go Nomad, Thrillist, and Paste Magazine. The journalists visited together with representatives of Diamond PR and had a wonderful experience and were very impressed, said Hassell.

The activities the journalists had the opportunity to experience included diving, snorkling with Sea Saba, hiking with the Saba Conservation Foundation, arts & crafts workshop with Jo Beans & Marie de Saba, dining around, village walking tour, island tour, visiting the marine lab, and getting to know the projects and events of the Sea & Learn Foundation.

Highlights and milestones

“For 2023 Saba has been featured in 28 top travel media publications in the US and Canada which include Travel & Leisure, Islands.com, Caribbean Journal, Toronto Star, Fox News, The Social TV, MSN.com, and Scuba Diving Magazine. In the Dutch market, Saba had national coverage in the Telegraaf Vrij, other publications included Plus Magazine, Next Travel Magazine, Nature Scanner, and Reiz Bizz.  As the island receives more exposure, we look forward to attracting and creating more booking leads to the island,” said Hassell.

Collaboration

“We thank our partners for their collaboration and WINAIR for their partnership with these press trips. The inter-regional collaborations and partnerships are of utmost importance for Saba as we continue to work closely with our counterparts. Collaborating on future press and fam trips and fortifying the region as a preferred island-hopping destination is something we see trending among trade partners,” concluded Hassell.

GIS