The 16th edition of the St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) has received many of its first tradeshow visitors which starts tonight.
As of today, only “walkaround” tickets will be available for aspiring tradeshow visitors of the largest tradeshow of the Northeastern Caribbean. The Sonesta “Maho Room” is filled up with booth holders and presently is no longer available for additional booths.
This was announced by organizer the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association in conjunction with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau, l`Office de Tourisme de St. Martin and the Club du Tourisme de St. Martin.
Tonight, the 16th edition of SMART will enjoy a binational, colorful, surprising and cultural Grand Opening Ceremony at Rainforest Adventure Park. Before that, over 110 businesses, foreign and domestic, will confirm presence and / or build up their booths for doing business at the host property Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino & Spa.
The binational organized tourism tradeshow is looking forward to receiving guests from Anguilla, Austria, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Germany, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saba, St. Barths, Statia (St. Eustatius), St. Maarten, St. Martin, Spain, Trinidad and the United States of America.
STB Director May-ling Chun: “We are elated to be part of bringing back SMART this year with a record amount of tourism entities involved in its organization. We are grateful for the involvement of so many elements of St. Maarten / St. Martin’s tourism product providing support, hotel site visits, tours, tastes of the island and beyond and last but not least – tourism partners filling up a full Maho room as the largest Convention Centre on island.”
With a revised formula it will be the longest (4 days) and most experiential edition for visitors thus far. Tour operators, travel agents and media are more than before invited to indulge in local experiences, culture, activity and hotel visits. As always SMART 2024 offers a platform for local non-tourism businesses in its vendor category.
Sonesta St. Maarten’s Vice President Resort Operations, Jamie Lee: “Having been host to many of the past fifteen SMARTs over the past decades, Sonesta St. Maarten once again stands proud of receiving the many delegates, dignitaries and travel writers from abroad and from our uniquely binational home island. Sonesta wholly endorses the new experiential formula of SMART as there is so much to discover for visitors on this island, as well as in the diverse archipelago surrounding us, only a daytrip away”.
The 16th edition of SMART brings together tourism professionals from the region and beyond to discuss business opportunities with Northeastern Caribbean tourism companies, highlighting island experiences in the process by means of a renewed joint formula exploring adventures on both sides of the island.
Next to its partnership with Sonesta St. Maarten, SMART 2024 is grateful for its support of Rainforest Adventures, Travel in Style Journeys, Flip.to, SST, Princess Juliana International Airport, Grey Goose Vodka, ShowMeCaribbean, CC1, Port St. Maarten, Winair, Autobev and Flow Business.
All booths in the business to business area (Maho room) have been sold out. Information about remaining walk around tickets for the tradeshow days (April 9th and 10th) can be found at SHTA.com/SMART. For questions, do not hesitate to call the SHTA offices at info@shta.com.
