Their journey began with an appearance on the popular daytime Steve Harvey Show on the Ask Steve segment. Erick and Adriane Atkins’ caught the eye of the producers and were invited back to be a part of a couples challenge on how to spice up your love life in March 2017. Little did they know, that much more was in store. The couple were surprised with a four-night getaway to Montserrat.
“I’d never heard of Montserrat before,” Adriane told reporters at the close of their holiday. She admitted to being tentative about what the island would be like after discovering there was an active volcano. However, they were game as the trip would coincide with the celebration of their fifth wedding anniversary.
Product Development Officer at the Tourism Division, Rosetta West-Gerald explained, “Steve Harvey Producers were looking for a tropical giveaway for their St. Patrick’s Day episode in March 2017. They wanted an over-the-top experience for their winners and in recognizing this opportunity, the Tourism Division of the Office of the Premier, enlisted the PR Agency Cheryl Andrews Marketing to secure the promotional trip giveaway opportunity to enhance visibility and recognition of Montserrat in that marketplace.â€
The lucky winners of the holiday giveaway, ‘Montserrat Villa Vacation’ arrived on Thursday February 15, for their four-night stay.Having visited the Bahamas and Mexico before, Adriane said she expected that the island offered a similar resort-like holiday. They were in for a pleasant surprise when what awaited them was an “authentic island life experience.”It was well beyond what we thought it would be,” said Erick who is a fitness coach. “The experience has been great, the people have been great, the food has been very good, the view of the island is amazing, the sunsets are crazy.â€
However, the couple did not spend all their time lazing around the fabulous Wing Song villa sponsored by Tradewinds Real Estate. Thanks to the stakeholders which partnered with the Tourism Division, they enjoyyed dinners at Olveston House, Summer Breeze, Good Eats, a boat tour with Buffy and snorkeling. Jet Blue sponsored return flights for the couple from Chicago to New York/ New York to Antigua. The Tourism Division also provided overnight hotel stay in New York; return flight between Montserrat and Antigua; an island tour; spa treatment and dinner for two.
Adriane said “it’s definitely been an amazing experience and something we definitely will share with othersâ€.
While expressing his love for the island and desire to stay, her husband added that he has things to take care of back home before they can think of moving to Montserrat.Mrs. West-Gerald said, “The show has certainly raised the visibility of the island and we know that Mr. and Mrs. Atkins will share their positive stories with others in the US. We hope that their experiences will inspire other persons to visit.â€
The Steve Harvey Show is a one-hour daytime show hosted by T.V. personality, comedian, radio show host and best-selling author – Steve Harvey. The show averages over 2.6 million viewers daily. He also has 4.5 million Facebook fans, 2 million Instagram followers and 343 million views on YouTube.
