As the grand opening of the 17th edition of the St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) is being prepared at the Simpson Bay Resort & Marina, many tourism players from the island, the region and the world are setting up their booths at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino & Spa.
The 17th edition will mark a 25-year tradition of the event being held. Over time, SMART has grown into the largest tourism tradeshow of the northeastern Caribbean. The event provides space for local businesses to meet, introduce themselves to representatives foreign and domestic of the main economic pillar of tourism, and create mutual opportunities from there. The four driving forces behind the event have historically been the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), St. Maarten Tourism Bureau, l’ Office de Tourisme de Saint-Martin and Club du Tourisme, making SMART the longest running binational event production of the island.
As it seems, SMART2025 will hold the largest buyer and walkaround delegations of the series till date. All “supplier” and “vendor” booths have been filled this year also. SMART2025 Delegates will come from Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Argentina, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Colombia, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, the Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, Saba, Spain, Statia, St. Barths, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
As with every edition, the public-private cooperation is supported in many ways by the private sector. Contributors with sizeable presence on this event are amongst others St. Maarten Sightseeing Tours (SST), Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino & Spa, Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), ShowMe Caribbean, Expedia Group, Majestik Group, Winair, Port St. Maarten, BookingSuccess, CC1 St. Maarten, AutoBev Systems, Flow Business, Only On SXM, KetelOne, Joel Gott Wines and Carib Lager. Anguilla and Saba both support the event too with a brand-new fifth “meet the neighbors day”.