Airbnb’s Caribbean growth continues.
The home-sharing travel giant has signed another agreement with a Caribbean tourism destination, this time the island of Anguilla.
The memorandum of understanding aims to “promote the island as a premier Caribbean destination, with a unique identity, cultural heritage and environment that goes beyond it’s world class beaches, crystalline waters and top class services.”
“Airbnb and Anguilla will work together to highlight Anguilla’s genuine appeal, as experienced through the eyes of locals, our Airbnb Host Community”, said Shawn Sullivan, Airbnb’s representative for the Caribbean and Central America.
The agreement also provides for Airbnb to share aggregated data with Anguilla to improve understanding on how home sharing is driving tourism.
“This agreement with Airbnb will have the effect of affording Anguillians of all walks of life an opportunity to be involved in the tourism accommodation sector, giving credence to the oft touted statement: Tourism is Everybody’s Business,” said Anguilla’s Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Victor Banks. “Airbnb represents a new trend in the delivery of tourism experiences to a wide range of international and regional travellers and creates a platform to promote Anguilla as a destination of choice for varied and new types of travel experiences.”
Airbnb already has more than 300 listings in Anguilla; a typical Airbnb host in Anguilla has an annual earning of around $4,400 in 2016.
“Our goal is to expand our tourism industry, increasing arrivals and enhancing overall tourism revenues,” said Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism.
Airbnb has been signing a wave of tourism agreements of late with islands including Jamaica and Aruba.