GREAT BAY(DCOMM):--- Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Ingrid Arrindell, said that the dual destination St. Maarten/St. Martin, was proud to hosts guests for SMART (St. Maarten/St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshows) last month.
SMART was scheduled to take place May 18 -20, 2016, but had to be cancelled due to the fact that the event was conflicting with similar events taking place in Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and Antigua, which resulted in very low registration numbers of buyers and sellers who would be attending.
Despite the postponement of SMART 2016, a number of wholesalers/tour operators traveled to the Island between May 15 -22, 2016 to conduct business.
“We were thrilled to learn that over twenty wholesalers/tour operators deemed it very important to travel to the Island (despite the cancellation of SMART) to meet with the respective DMC operators and hoteliers, to conduct site visits/inspections, as well as to visit the neighboring islands in order to conduct business.
“The delegates were very enthusiastic with their visit to the Island, and were pleased with the fact that the on-island partners rolled out the red carpet for them, which resulted in their leaving the Island motivated, energized, and ready to sell the Island,” said Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Ingrid Arrindell.
The delegates were hosted for a lunch reception on the Northern side of the Island by the Office de Tourism on Thursday May 19, followed by a cocktail and dinner reception at the Azul Restaurant at the Ocean Point by the Sonesta Group of Companies and the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.
SMART is a regional tradeshow that allows suppliers such as tourism boards, hoteliers, car rental agencies, DMCs and other tourism suppliers to meet with buyers (tour operators/wholesalers) and develop marketing initiatives, promotional campaigns, and sales activities.
