Vogue Magazine has named Trinidad and Tobago one of the 10 Hottest Travel Destinations of 2017. The US-based international fashion and lifestyle magazine published the article written by Jen Murphy on its website on December 30th 2016. The article lauded the destination’s “mix of wild nature and distinct culture,” calling it a “refreshing alternative to the typical Caribbean beach vacation.”
Katalina Mayorga, CEO of the Los Angeles, California-based travel company, El Camino Travel, who was also mentioned in the article, participated in a destination familiarization trip in November 2015 hosted by the Tourism Development Company and subsequently brought a social media influencer group in June 2016. Seven influencers with a combined social media following of 1.12 million participated in the latter trip. The group visited both Trinidad and Tobago and the participants crafted a visual story of the immersive and authentic cultural experiences that inspired them the most.
Following these trips, El Camino Travel developed and began promoting a curated group travel package to Trinidad and Tobago, scheduled for June 2017. The 7-night/8-day itinerary covers both islands, and includes snorkeling in Tobago, bird watching, turtle watching, hiking through the rainforest, visit to a local produce market and local cooking lessons.
The TDC will continue to work with social media influencers (travel&lifestyle) as part of its marketing communications strategy, whereby they are exposed to the T&T product and provide unbiased second-hand testimonials about travel to the destination to their followers.