PHILIPSBURG–The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island representing a broad range of companies, has named Karen Hana as its new Executive Director following the resignation of Alfred Harley.

SHTA President Emil Lee said in a press release issued March 22, 2013 “The entire board is happy to welcome Karen to SHTA; her many years of experience in tourism brings a depth of knowledge that we are anxious to take advantage of.”

Hana, a graduate of the Hotel Management School in The Hague, brings more than 25 years of extensive hotel and timeshare experience on St. Maarten and in the Caribbean. She has been on the island since 1994, when she took on the position of Director of the Conference Centre at Mullet Bay Beach Resort.

After Hurricane Luis, she joined the Flamingo Beach Resort as Resort Manager, which one year later was awarded the Gold Crown status by Resort Condominiums International (RCI). She was then hired by the Royal Resorts Group from Cancun, Mexico, as Caribbean Operations Coordinator being directly involved with the Pelican Resort Club in St. Maarten as well as the start-up and management of The Seaquarium Resort in Curaçao, and The Caymanian and the Royal Reef resorts in Grand Cayman.

Prior and after she left the island for Aruba as KL International’s Director for Resort Operations, she worked at the Princess Port de Plaisance during which time she assisted in the organisation of several large Childfest events. She also served on the board of the Timeshare Association for eight years.

Hana will continue with the SHTA’s focus of providing member benefits through advocacy campaigns on areas of common interest across all business sectors; on its community service projects and through the continuous improvement of the island’s collective tourism product.

“The SHTA is dedicated to bringing quality to all aspects of life on St. Maarten by promoting sustainable economic development for its members in cooperation with the social partners, and the creation of a fair marketplace. For more information please contact our offices at 542-0108 or visit our website at www.shta.com,” a statement from the association stated.