The Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) says “everyone’s buzzing about Grenada” following the recent hosting of the historic inaugural Grenada Invitational.
The GTA said on Thursday that the live broadcast of the Invitational was estimated to reach 90 million homes worldwide via ESPN2.
“During that time, viewers were treated to gorgeous visual presentations of ‘Pure Grenada’s’ stunning scenery, friendly people and abundant activities for visitors through adverts and promotional videos provided by the GTA,” the statement said.
“The GTA, on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, was delighted to support the hosting of the first Grenada Invitational, as we valued the opportunity to showcase Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean to the world,” said GTO chief executive officer Patricia Maher.
“Our Marketing Manager Francine Stewart dedicated her time and resource to the Local Organizing Committee over an intensive six-month period, and the GTA, together with our PR Agency CAMC, organized our first international press trip group for the year around the event,” she added.
“By all accounts, Grenada got the global brand visibility we were looking for with worldwide coverage of over 90 million viewers of the event on ESPN. The marketing exposure we received for our tourism destination was priceless,” Maher continued.
The GTA said the 2017 Grenada Invitational was the first event of the track and field season, attracting some of the top athletes in the world, including Grenada’s Kirani James, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell Brown and Justin Gatlin.
“It was a historic moment for Grenada, as the achievements of the country’s first Olympic medalist were immortalized with the Athletics Stadium being renamed the Kirani James Athletics Stadium,” the GTA said. “This moment was crowned by James winning the 400m race to the jubilation of the crowd.”
The GTA said some of the other athletes either posted personal best times or broke national records.
But, apart from competing, the GTA said the athletes took time to enjoy Grenada’s natural beauty, adding that “they are sharing with the world via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.”
As for the five members of the GTA-organized press trip from Canada, the US and the Caribbean, “they thoroughly enjoyed their experience and are excited to write about destination ‘Pure Grenada’”, the GTA said.
“Their social media accounts are buzzing with every moment of their trip, including getting the chance to meet Grenadian Olympian Kirani James,” the GTA said.
It said that it believes that the hosting of the Grenada Invitational and coverage, via ESPN, will boost arrivals in Grenada in the coming months from all source markets.
