The 2027 edition of the St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) will introduce an “Archipelago Afternoon” to its program, designed to strengthen intra-Caribbean connections during a dedicated time slot on Tuesday, June 15, 2027.
The new initiative was announced today by the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), in collaboration with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau, l’Office de Tourisme de Saint-Martin, and Club du Tourisme. The four tourism partners discussed and developed the initiative over the past month as part of their ongoing efforts to innovate and enhance the 25-year-old tradeshow.
The new program element will not extend the five-day event. Instead, it will enable more efficient use of participants’ schedules, creating over 30% more appointments in both supplier and buyer agendas.
“Adding Archipelago Afternoon, without adding hassle for anyone, will create more opportunities for everyone involved and, by extension, for the many Caribbean islands represented,” said May-ling Chun of the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau.
SMART 2026 recorded 2,772 meetings between buyers and suppliers, in addition to supplier-to-supplier meetings. An analysis of SMART 2026 revealed that more than 31% of supplier meetings involved fellow Caribbean suppliers—including hotels, tour operators, activity providers, tourism boards, airlines, and destination management companies—as well as local vendors serving the tourism industry and other business-to-business sectors.
By concentrating as many of these meetings as possible into an afternoon traditionally reserved for buyers to tour the island, the new format aims to create additional business opportunities for all parties while preserving the traditional 1.5 days dedicated to scheduled appointments. For local vendors, the initiative will provide more time to showcase their products and services to the local tourism industry. Additionally, an afternoon dedicated exclusively to Caribbean destinations will create opportunities to address specific regional and island-wide initiatives.
With a 33% increase in tradeshow floor time, expanding from 1.5 to two full days, SMART 2027 is poised to be the most economically productive edition to date. A survey conducted in June and July 2026 found that 96% of visitors benefited from the meetings held during the tradeshow.
SMART 2027 will take place from June 14–18, 2027. On September 7, the “Chirp First Early Bird Season” began, giving returning and new participants the opportunity to secure their preferred spots on the 2027 tradeshow floor.
Interested companies can contact info@shta.com or visit shta.com/SMART for more information.