Destinations

British Airways sees booking spike after social media posts by celebs like Rihanna and Katy Perry

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Celebrity endorsements do matter, which is one reason Rihanna has a deal with Barbados to help push her home country to would-be vacationers in the U.S.

-Jason Clampet

The Daily Telegraph
Jan 15, 2013 1:08 pm

Celebrities who posted pictures of their Caribbean holidays online have boosted bookings to the region, according to British Airways.

The national carrier has reported a 130 per cent increase in breaks to Barbados and St Lucia this year, after stars such Rihanna and Coleen Rooney posted photos of themselves in holiday mode on social media sites.

Others seen sunning themselves under the Barbados sun recently were Simon Cowell, Katy Perry and Olly Murs.

Even the notoriously camera-shy Gwyneth Paltrow recently posted photos of her family enjoying the Sugar Beach resort in St Lucia on the website Goop.

Claire Bentley, British Airways Holidays managing director, said: “The start of the year is always the busiest time for bookings – people are back at work and need something to look forward to.

“The wet weather over Christmas, combined with lots of enticing pictures of celebrities on holiday has clearly influenced the rise we’re seeing in beach holidays.”

Other winter sun destinations proving popular with the A-list include Puerto Rico, a haven for media darlings Alexa Chung and Nick Grimshaw, while Hollywood couples Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, and Emily Blunt and John Krasinski were spotted in Mexico.

The airline has also seen a record jump in bookings to Hawaii, which were up 100 per cent on the previous year. The lush islands attracted Katy Perry and John Mayer, Steven Tyler, Jude Law and even Barack Obama.

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