In conjunction with SHTA Event Calendar main partner Amstel Bright by Divico Distributors, the Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) today launched its yearly Calendar Photo Contest on behalf of its 2026 Event Calendar. It calls on participants to send in events before September 1st.
SHTA’s annual contest aims to offer a platform for aspiring local and visiting photographers via its annual Events Calendar, with the opportunity of artwork and company name being seen over 60,000 times when taking the printed editions and digital views together over 2025.
The contest is open to residents and visitors alike. Previous winners came from various countries. American Richard Santaga won the contest in 2022 with boats participating in the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta. St. Maarten’s talent Mara Bailey won the 2023 edition of the contest with a picture of men playing dominoes in front of a mural dedicated to local dialect. Husam El Aswad from the Netherlands was the most recent winner in 2024, combining a picture of an old Fort Amsterdam window with a view of a modern cruise ship passing by through its framework.
A total of 34 pictures were submitted for the previous photo contest in 2024. As the contest grows, it was noted that last year’s level of pictures was considered of high artistic value compared to previous years, a level SHTA hopes to maintain during this year’s contest.
Every year, a St. Maarten hotel with affection for the arts has supported the contest. This year’s winner receives a weekend at Seaview Beach Hotel on the Philipsburg Boardwalk, added with a Saturday stay at one of their luxury pool- and beachside cabanas and a sponsored welcome bucket of Amstel Bright beers at arrival.
To qualify for the annual SHTA photo contest, pictures need to portray the island’s attractiveness through landscapes, culture symbols or art. A maximum of three photos is allowed to be submitted per participant. The pictures should be in high resolution making it fit for print. Photos can be submitted as of today until September 1st via events@shta.com.
For the 2026 jury, opinions will be asked of the “Cultural Icon” of this year’s calendar, fashion artist Zillah Duzon-Hazel, and her recently announced successor for 2026 the National Institute for Arts (NIA). Other members of the jury will be main calendar supporters Amstel Bright by Divico Distributors, AMA Jewelers, Grant Thornton and TelEM.
Like the previous years, editions of the calendar are actively spread on island and to travel partners abroad. Not only thousands of hard-copy calendars are being distributed on island and to partners abroad, the calendar also receives tens of thousands of online views. The calendar is also displayed in SHTA’s in- room hotel magazine – Visit St. Maarten / St. Martin.
The amount of 2026 calendar editions printed will be the largest thus far, celebrating SHTA’s 55-year anniversary and 10th calendar edition at the same time. SHTA calls on companies, NGOs and Government entities planning events to submit their dates for the calendar to events@shta.com before October 10th, 2025. As always, island residents can reserve free copies of the 2026 Events Calendar edition via the same e-mail address.