Puerto Rico nabs Expedia’s ‘Destination of the Year’ honor
Caribe Hilton Hotel
Expedia Inc. will officially bestow its “Top Destination of the Year” award to the island of Puerto Rico this week, during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace’s annual conference this week in the Bahamas, the online travel company announced Monday.
The Bellevue, Wash. company will also bestow its “Top Partner of the Year,” honor to the Caribe Hilton in San Juan and to the Hilton hotels in Puerto Rico as a brand, as well as its “Top New Hotel” distinction to the San Juan Airport Hotel, during its “Partner Appreciation Event”
“We are thrilled to participate in another edition of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, as we know it’s an important event to consolidate our relationships with Tourism authorities and meet with our hotel partners to discuss marketing and distribution strategies to provide exceptional exposure and unparalleled access on all Expedia group platforms worldwide,” said Marco Tagliatti, vice president of Lodging Supply for Latin America & Caribbean.
The Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the most important industry event organized by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association each year.
The Caribbean, and Puerto Rico, have been among the world’s top performing travel destinations, according to Expedia. In the first three quarters of last year, annual global travel bookings for the Caribbean across all Expedia group sites was more than $300 million.
When compared with 2011 in the same time period, travel bookings for the Caribbean were up more than 20 percent year-over-year, and the average daily rate was nearly $230, representing an increase of 4 percent year-over-year. The average length of stay in the region remained four nights, the travel company said.
Expedia added that some points of origin in particular achieved notable demand in 2012. Key markets for the region in the first nine months of 2012 were the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy and Germany.
“The Expedia group’s Market Management team is working on diversifying the mix of business we send our hotel partners in the Caribbean by increasing the amount of transactions through our international points of sale, with a specific focus on Canada, the United Kingdom and Brazil,” said Demetrius Canton, director, market management for the Caribbean.
