The tourism and hospitality industry plays a major role in the Jamaican economy.

In 2019, tourism represented 11 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), providing some $1.3 trillion in revenue and recognising 1.4 billion international visitors.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, put an inevitable dent in profits for hotels, villas, tour guides, and other businesses dependent on the hospitality industry to thrive. With tighter restrictions on travel, and possible banning of foreigners visiting at any given time due to the spike in cases, the Jamaican hospitality industry has to now pivot and shift marketing strategies to attract locals to stay afloat.

More than ever, staycations are being promoted and Jamaicans are being urged to “rediscover Jamaica” as a place to vacation and explore. Yet, to thrive, the Jamaican hospitality industry must find creative ways to be profitable. The onset of COVID-19 and the rise of social media (as of January 2020, according to HootSuite’s Digital 2020 Report that cites trends, internet and social media data, the total number of Jamaicans who are active social media users is 1.3 million) means traditional advertising needs to shift budgets to make way for online marketing and this should include influencers for product mentions and endorsements. 

Embracing influencer marketing

An influencer from a marketing perspective is “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media”.

By hoteliers embracing the local bloggers and creators they bring a unique perspective and Jamaicans follow and admire their contemporaries enjoying our beautiful island.

Bloggers and YouTubers

 “A blogger by definition is a person who regularly writes material for a blog which is hosted on a website. Usually focused on a particular niche, whether that be food, travel or lifestyle,” says Kesi Gardner, the chief storyteller at The Storyteller Agency.Co.

“The benefit of using a blog is that it will show up in Google search unlike on Instagram which is limited in terms of search. A blog is also forever and will come up on the first or second page of Google if SEO is used correctly.”

Gardner added: “As the second most visited social media platform in Jamaica, according to HootSuite’s 2020 report, using YouTubers has a great benefit within the market,” says Kesi. “YouTubers also have their subscribers and they are very invested in their lives. Our strategy is always to look for out-of-the-box ways to showcase an attraction. In the US, brand-sponsored trips are a standard and we want to make that the norm  locally as well.

“For us it’s more than just taking a pretty picture. Our approach is always robust, combining mega and micro-Influencers, local content creators including photographers and videographers, YouTubers and bloggers, to bring your brand story to life and showcase the very best of the attraction or villa/hotel. In the past year, we’ve worked with Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, Worthy Park Estate Rum Tour, Joy Spence’s Appleton Estate Rum Tour, non-profit Kingston Creative to showcase their Art Walk activities and Ministry of Culture, Gender and Sport to promote the activities for Reggae Month.”

She said: “In 2019, for International Rum Day, Worthy Park Estate Rum Tour invited a group of 12 bloggers from Love Not Likes to visit the tour and received more than 100,000 impressions on Instagram on the commemorative day. After the visit, each blogger wrote their own review and they received over 500 reads on their blogs collectively.

“To target a new local audience means a local voice is needed. Jamaicans are ready to rediscover their island, find hidden gems, and staycation in hotels and villas, but they want to learn about it from a local consumer perspective. Local bloggers can show them the way, where to find the best deals, the hidden gems, stir off the beaten path and patronise the smaller establishments who need  support the most at this time. More and more, local consumers want real-life reviews of the hotel/villa and attraction experience from the ambiance, service quality to amenities. And they want it from people they trust, many of whom are the influencers they follow on social media.”

Building awareness for brands using the art of storytelling

Since 2019, The Storyteller Agency.Co has made it a point to  partner with several local hotels, restaurants, villas and attractions to connect with Jamaicans through the use of Influencers and local creators.

“By using creators who are travel-centric and like to share their honest experiences, you can have a  deeper connection with your target audience through their eyes. These influencers share their life through the art of storytelling and  their followers are invested in those stories,” she continued.

For instance, in 2020, Jamaican Travel and Lifestyle YouTuber Annesha Adams (who has more than 40,000 subscribers) visited Lashings Boutique Hotel in Treasure Beach and received more than 10,000 views in 24 hours with more than 200 comments on her hotel review.  In her video, which now has more than 25,000 views, she shares her honest opinion of the hotel, details about amenities, local fare and price range.

“Since moving back home to Jamaica from Canada two years ago, I’ve wanted to showcase the very best of the island. From the best attractions to visit in every parish to even the not so popular places, I always share with my subscribers the real life perspective of living in Jamaica. St Elizabeth is one of my favourite parishes and I liked Lashings Boutique Hotel’s aesthetic and wanted to show my subscribers a different side of Jamaica. Not just the touristy side but the relaxed side as well,” said Annesha.

“We’re very happy to have partnered with The Storyteller Agency.Co and Annesha Adams,” said David Folb, owner of Lashings Boutique and Villas.

“I’m really aware that some Jamaicans don’t like the all-inclusive experience you get in the main resorts, so I have been keen to offer something different. Our hotel and villas offer a more ‘grown up’ approach to tourism – with an authentic Jamaican experience which doesn’t patronise or exploit. It’s also something more interesting for bloggers to write about or create videos around – beyond the standard bikini shots!”

After a group of influencers curated by The Storyteller Agency. Co visited Turtles’ Nest  in 2020, the Treasure Beach villa’s Instagram followers grew by more than 500 followers in 24 hours. 

Lucy Atherton, the owner, said: “I just took a view early on in the pandemic that I would focus entirely on the Jamaican market and that using influencers was the quickest and most effective way to do this. I’m always as generous as I can be to bloggers (like solo travel coach Diedre in Wanderland) who stay and I rarely say ‘no’ – so it’s really paid off.

“With the help of Instagram and its influencers, Jamaicans in general are rediscovering a love for their beautiful country, at a time when it’s very difficult to travel abroad. The south coast, which has been largely ignored as a staycation option in the past, is now really benefiting from this. On a recent blogger trip to Fishermans’ Inn, Love Not Likes Ja took a trip to Falmouth to see the Luminous Lagoon. They had to find a safe COVID-19 friendly way to transport eight bloggers and YouTubers with their gear, bearing in mind social distancing safety protocols.

Mark Pike, operations manager of Enterprise Jamaica and ATL Automotive Group, offered a partnership in which he would supply an eight seater for the influencers and their gear, “We have Jamaica’s newest fleet in Kia and Honda, all 2020 and 2019 models. With the highest standard in service with handpicked talent trained with a hospitality flair.”

Said Pike: “We maintain complete clean pledge which is our enhanced sanitation standards, consistently audited. And have ability for a full contact-less rental experience if the customer desires it, online check-in, payment via online link, rental agreement signed online. Among all franchisees in the world for Enterprise Holdings, we are one of four countries (out of over 80) where we were back-to-back winners of Customer Service Excellence.

He added: “Since 2016, Our rental brands have been #1 in service across all online platforms. Before COVID, we were the fastest growing rental company in the region from 50 cars to over 350 in 2019. In order to pivot, they were willing to look at using some non-traditional methods to engage the locals to use car rentals.

“The experience working with The Storyteller Agency.Co and creator platform Love Not Likes Ja was a professional one. They worked out a customised solution to fit our need for content and visibility, delivering on our need for getting local content while sharing a solid review of our great service through IG stories, posts, blog posts and YouTube videos.”

Lifestyle and Travel YouTuber Bicana Brown featured Enterprise Jamaica’s 2020 Kia Carnival car rental in her YouTube vlog about the trip to Fishermans’ Inn. To date, the video has over 8,000 views. The trip included a two day stay at Fisherman’s Inn in Falmouth on the dock of the Glistening Waters which leads into the Luminous Lagoon.