The 16th edition of the St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) came to an end this week as the last guests from 25 participating countries, and territories left the island and surrounding destinations after their four day immersion in St. Maarten / St. Martin culture, activities and tourism product.
Organizers, the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB), L’Office du Tourisme and Club du Tourisme look back at a successful comeback tradeshow, applying a new experiential formula to its first edition after the global pandemic. Amongst others tours and hotel visits on St. Maarten, St. Martin and Anguilla were added to the experiences of the now 22 year old tradeshow. The French side “Mystery Dinners” event for delegates was continued from its last edition to have buyers and agents taste island cuisine. New “Meet the Manager Dinners” allowed for groups to further experience the “culinary capital of the Caribbean” firsthand. A welcome party on the summit of Rainforest Adventure Park gave a great view of surrounding islands; carnival dancers and living statues of binational icons and those of surrounding islands greeted the visitors en route.
“We are elated about many good comments from the wholesalers, travel agents, journalists and business people attending the event. More than ever, we indulged our visitors in the St. Maarten / St. Martin tourism product and involved the region. The new SMART is all set for a yearly return, and we look to an even further immersion in our destination in 2025,” said May-ling Chun of STB.
“We are happy the longest standing binational effort to promote tourism has been brought back in a longer and more experiential setting than ever before, and we look forward to keep adding surprising experiences to the SMART formula. We believe that the best way to promote the island is to experience what our island is about – like the Mystery Dinners gave a great preview of the Festival de la Gastronomie in November” Ms. Valerie Damaseau of the Office du Tourisme added.
The event became sold out over the last weeks before its opening. SMART 2024 contained over 1,000 scheduled appointments between tourism business representatives from the Northeastern Caribbean and their counterparts beyond. Delegates came 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.
SMART 2024 is grateful for its support of many public and private sector entities, amongst others Sonesta St. Maarten, Rainforest Adventures, Travel in Style Journeys, Flip.to, SST, Princess Juliana International Airport, Grey Goose Vodka, Simpson Bay Resort, ShowMeCaribbean, CC1, Port St. Maarten, Winair, Autobev and Flow Business. Entities that want to be part of SMART 2025 are cordially invited to send an e-mail in advance to info@shta.com.
