The Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) and Carib Beer call on companies and NGO’s to send in events they are planning for 2019 for their National Event Calendar.

The 2018 calendar, published only three months after Devastating Hurricane Irma, served as a symbol to our partners and visitors that Sint Maarten remains vibrant. By launching the third calendar, partners seek to promote events to show again that Sint Maarten is a dynamic place and recovering from the devastation after Irma.

In 2016, SHTA launched its first national events calendar experiment. Inspiring design by local artist Loic Bryan encouraged showcasing of the poster in many public spaces. Next to a distribution campaign, the calendars were part of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and the Sint Maarten / Saint-Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) goodie bags. Next to deliberate dispersion, the poster was downloaded hundreds of times in the past years and was even requested to be sent to other countries, such as Aruba, the United States and the Netherlands. For the first time, this edition will be published in SHTA’s in-room hotel magazine VISIT (stock 25.000). Last but not least, all events were spread by digital calendars, apps, newsletters, and social media of the SHTA.

Carib Beer partnered with SHTA in all previous editions and is on board again as main sponsor for the 2019 edition. The beer, popular by locals and tourists is happy to be a part of the initiative that should send a positive message that St. Maarten is getting fun and excitement again.

Because of its functionality for both locals and visitors looking for upcoming events, as well as its benefits for managerial planning, the project will increase in scope this year. As of last year, SHTA started to provide room for NGO’s that have been so active in Irma’s wake, as well as contribute so much to Sint Maarten society, to send in activities. In the wake of hurricane Irma, it is exactly those organizations that have meant the most for the Sint Maarten people, having the greatest difficulty of continuing their efforts due to lack of funding. Whereas member and non-member companies pay a small printing fee for having their event publicized, for its 2019 edition NGO’s and foundations are again offered free publication for calendar events.

For NGO’s, even more exposure is possible. Last year SHTA newsletter began publishing the “NGO of the week” column, which is specifically aimed to highlight the NGOs of Sint Maarten to SHTA members. If deemed desirable, societal organizations can have their profile distributed freely in SHTA’s newsletter.

Event submissions for the 2019 Events Calendar qualify as long as they are (1) interesting for visitors and are (2) publicly accessible for anyone. The offer of early bird placement will be in place until September 20th. Event submissions can be forwarded to marketing@shta.com; please ensure that the following information is included: date, time, location, and any other crucial information pertaining to the event.

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