PHILIPSBURG--The Early Bird ticket season for the St. Martin/St. Maarten Annual Trade Show (SMART) 2019 edition set for May 21-23 officially started on Tuesday, according to key organisers Office du Tourisme de Saint Martin, St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, L’Association des Hoteliers de Saint Martin (AHSM) and the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA).
The Early Bird season will run until April and allows foreign tour operators, local tourism and non-tourism businesses to purchase access passes to what is traditionally the largest tradeshow of the Northeastern Caribbean. This year’s event will include more innovation, experiences, local businesses, added trainings, a new topic of “mystery dinners” and a vendor street, amongst other things.
SMART’s 15th edition has been in the making for quite some time. Key partners abroad and domestic have been notified that this jubilee edition is to take place. All four partners are committed to show that the destination is back in business after the effects of the 2017 hurricane season.
For its comeback edition, organisers chose a new logo, look and approach befitting the renewed mission of the event – providing insights into hospitality and business innovations available, in addition to the traditional business meetings taking place. Their ambition is to involve even more St. Martin/St. Maarten local businesses, both tourism and non-tourism, than they did in the 14 previous editions.
The largest SMART thus far will consist of three days of innovative masterclasses, workshops, activities, festivities and business-to-business appointments. The event will kick off on Tuesday, May 21, with a unique opening ceremony. After two days of conferences, including a “mystery dinner tour” in the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean, a spectacular farewell event will end SMART’s 15th edition.
The organising partners are expecting numerous tour operators, travel agents, travel writers and event planners from the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to attend this important event.
In previous years, SMART featured regional businesses from Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Maarten/St. Martin.
Early Bird registration can be done at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Event information will be continuously updated at
SHTA.com/SMART . For reservations or questions, call +1-721-542-0108.
