TORONTO — Upwards of 14,000 viewers tuned in to Travelweek’s ‘The Future of Travel: Caribbean Comeback’ last week, with viewership significantly boosted by viral playback on Travelweek’s Facebook page over the weekend.
Agents tuned in to hear industry insights amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, island updates and information on travelling to the Caribbean this winter.
The Sept. 30 event, which was broadcast live, saw 3,295 unique viewers watching the live webcast online, plus it was broadcast on Facebook Live for another 9,600 views on Travelweek’s Facebook and 1,300 on Travelweek’s French-language Profession Voyages. This lands viewership at 14,195 and climbing.
Total Unique Webcast Live Views – 3,295
Travelweek Facebook views – 9.6K
Profession Voyages Facebook views – 1.3 K
Total Viewership – 14,195
“This is an amazing feat for Travelweek given the fatigue we are seeing with other online events, clearly demonstrating that we have found a winning formula and have an engaged database to back it up,” says Devin Kinasz, Publisher, Travelweek. “The viewership is beyond my expectations and I am very proud to be an informative news source that agents trust during such a difficult time for our industry. We are trying our best to do our part to help build confidence.”
The reaction from agents has been overwhelmingly positive with many saying they’re excited to travel to the Caribbean again soon. Many other agents commented that it was the best and most engaging virtual event that they had attended to date:
“I’m so ready to get out of Canada to the Caribbean!””
– Sue Hawkes, Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Mississauga, ON
“Great virtual conference! Thank you for keeping us informed and up-to-date.”
– Eleanor Dath, Vision Travel, Georgetown, ON
“Such a motivational and informative event! Thank you so much from our Humber Tourism students!
– Megan Swan, Humber College
“Thank you! Informative, inspirational and encouraging.”
– Lana Keyes, Keyes2Travel, Winnipeg, MB
“Thank you Travelweek, this has been the best conference in months.”
– Tracy McGivern, Travel Best Bets, B.C.
To complement the Future of Travel: Caribbean Comeback event, Travelweek’s brand new ‘Caribbean Comeback Guide’ offers more than 40 pages of key information that agents need as the fall and winter travel season gets underway amid the pandemic.
The Caribbean Comeback Guide, available here as a downloadable PDF, includes new statistics from Travelweek’s most recent agent and consumer surveys about booking and travel trends in the Caribbean, plus the latest news from Canada’s top airlines regarding their upcoming Sun programs.
The Caribbean Comeback Guide also offers island-by-island listings, serving as a go-to resource for agents complete with entry requirements and relevant information from some of the Caribbean’s top destinations.
Plus, the last 2 pages of the guide offer a handy quick-check reference chart of all the COVID-19 entry requirements for 16 islands and destinations.
“We were right on the money anticipating that agents would require a guide of this type with an overview of what is happening on each island. I have had many, many people reach out to me saying they are reading it cover to cover to really understand what’s going on!” says Kinasz.
