Saint Martin/Sint Maarten hosts Annual Regional Trade Show in May

The Saint Martin/Sint Maarten Annual Regional Trade Show (SMART) offers international and regional buyers the opportunity to meet and network with suppliers and other key tourism industry partners from the neighboring Caribbean islands from Tuesday, May 21, to Thursday, May 23, 2019. The event promises to provide three days of inspiring and innovative master classes, workshops, activities, festivities, and opportunities for industry professionals to expand their networks. SMART is a collaborative initiative between the St. Martin Tourism Office, the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, the Saint Martin Hotel Association (L’ Association des Hôteliers de Saint Martin) and the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA).

“SMART is one of the largest marketplace events where buyers and suppliers can meet one-on-one in the Eastern Caribbean Islands and is the most highly anticipated tourism industry event on-island,” stated Stuart Johnson, St. Maarten’s Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication. “It is our goal to further connect the Caribbean’s tourism entities, ultimately strengthening its tourism-based business as a whole. We look forward to welcoming our tourism partners back to our shores in 2019.”

Early bird registration officially began on February 19 and will run until April. Those looking to express their interest in attending can contact SHTA at [email protected] Further event information will be provided on SHTA’s website: SHTA.com/SMART.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone back to our beautiful island to participate in this year’s SMART conference,” remarked Ms. May-Ling Chun, Director of Tourism of St. Maarten. “In the 16th edition of the event, we hope to continue fostering new and long-lasting relationships between industry leaders from across the world.”

This year’s marketplace will allow for a full day and a half of one-on-one meetings with notable buyers and suppliers from across the globe. SMART annually incorporates the nearby allied destinations of Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and Tortola. This year’s event will also feature suppliers from other destinations throughout the region, including Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago, to name a few. The event is attended each year by tour operators, travel agents, travel writers and event planners from the U.S., Canada, Europe and Latin America.

New to SMART’s three-day program is a not-to-be-missed “mystery dinner,” which will further highlight the island’s status as the Caribbean’s culinary capital.