Press Release – Belize Tourism Board, Belize City, Belize – November 7, 2011 – The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is proud to announce its newest venture: FACEBOOK BELIZE. This November, in an effort to augment posting and comments on our Belize Vacation Facebook page, the BTB has been working harder than ever to find ways of engaging travelers to share their experiences at all points of their vacation. Travelers, who are heading home from a Belize vacation experience, now have the opportunity to post their experiences from a total of three internet stations that are located in the departure area of the Philip Goldson International Airport at Gates 1, 3 and 4. As is customary, most travelers are subjected to a layover time in the departure lounge and it is our hope that our visitors can utilize these stations to comment on their vacation in Belize prior to their departure.
This Facebook Belize initiative is primarily geared towards connecting offline experiences with Belize’s online social mediums, and allows the BTB to receive immediate feedback from Belize’s visitors. As one of many “new media” programs that have been debuted by the BTB this fiscal year, Facebook Belize is in step with the digital revolution that is taking place throughout the world. Most importantly, this program fulfills one of the objectives laid out in the BTB’s Marketing 2010-2012 Action Plan: to increase online assets, specifically social postings.
Since April of 2011, the BTB has seen a significant increase and improvement in its online presence and engagement. The Belize Vacation Facebook “likes” have more than doubled since March, increasing from 6,500 “likes” to over 14,200 “likes” as of today.
Facebook is indispensable to the BTB as it allows us to develop a direct relationship with current and prospective visitors. It also helps our online initiatives through:
• Building relationships – to better adapt marketing and business services to meet customers’ needs by engaging in conversations with customers and prospective visitors.
• Raising visibility – to raise Belize’s profile abroad by consistently posting relevant information and engaging our audience to participate in conversations, even after they’ve gone home.
• Identifying target niches – to identify and capitalize on niche markets -and possibly identify niches we haven’t considered-by analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data they provide.
• Building brand awareness – to maximize no-cost and low-cost marketing efforts by leveraging related content on Facebook, thereby raising brand awareness.
• Monitoring buzz about Belize – to be able to monitor buzz – tastes, preferences, and feedback from respective trips; this information will inform other marketing decisions.
The FACEBOOK BELIZE program benefits industry stakeholders directly. By mentioning the lodgings where they stayed, the activities that they did, and the restaurants where they ate, you can gain valuable exposure. That exposure can be amplified when you “Like” or “reshare” comments. You may also “tag” the BTB on your specials or other unique news. This will provide an added avenue for your content to be shared with the larger community the BTB has been cultivating and expanding.
We welcome and encourage all travelers to look out for our Facebook Belize kiosks at the airport and look forward to hearing the incredible experiences they had in Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret!
