An overview of business-to-business meetings in the Convention Centre of the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, Casino and Spa, during SMART 2025. (Robert Luckock photo)
MAHO--The 2025 St. Maarten/St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) came to a successful conclusion on Friday, with many applauding its organisation, further cementing the event’s reputation as the go-to show for networking and soliciting business.
Customer Service Supervisor Ashley Chips from World Travel Holdings (left) and Business Development Manager for the Day Pass Division (Resort for a Day) Joshua Lassman (right). (Robert Luckock photo)
Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) promoted its summer schedule “carnival style”. (SHTA photo)
This was the 17th edition of the event organised by St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) in conjunction with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB), Saint-Martin Tourism Office, and Club du Tourisme, making it a truly bi-national event.
Some 291 visitors from 29 countries and destinations attended the trade show, with more than 1,000 appointments and meetings conducted over the two days of the trade show itself.
The event brings together buyers (foreign tour operators and travel agents), suppliers (hotels, tourism bureaus, local tour operators) and vendors who supply to the tourism industry but do not have appointments. Appointments are between buyers and suppliers, with buyers showing the biggest increase to date this year.
Extending the event to five days has been a savvy move to offer delegates more opportunities for relaxing excursions, day trips to Saba and Anguilla, dinners at a variety of restaurants, in contrast to the strictly business environment of the trade show floor at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino and Spa Convention Centre.
“The way the event has been structured, for buyers to have one and a half days of meetings and the opportunity to experience different restaurants and visit properties on this island and neighbouring islands, has made the event more successful than last year,” said SHTA executive board member Ricardo Perez. “It shows the importance of events like this to stay relevant to the people who bring business to the island, and for them to have an immersive experience.
“With what’s going on in the US affecting the Canadian market, apparently Canadians will not be travelling as much to the US this summer. That opens an opportunity for us to capitalise on, if the seats are there, keeping in mind that other islands will do the same thing. That’s why marketing strategy is so important.”
Perez said the feedback he received was that SMART 2025 was very productive. Asked whether the event might be extended to six days, he said: “That would depend on a survey and feedback. Whatever we do to modify the event is always in the interest of continuing its success.”
St. Maarten Tourism Bureau Director May-Ling Chun said she and her colleagues were very happy with the event.
“I think we had more than 160 delegates between buyers and suppliers,” Chun estimated.
“Among them was a variety of suppliers, not only hotels, but excursions, products, and an increase in vendors. The buyers came from all over; we had Poland, Holland, Germany, Spain, which made it more diverse, the US of course, and good representation from the Caribbean.
“We made sure that all our marketing and public relations (PR) firms were present from the different regions to stay connected. For us it’s about connecting with new tour operators and travel agents to sell the destination. With the proximity of Saba, Anguilla, etcetera, St. Maarten is sold as a multi-destination vacation.”
Chun said cooperation meetings with tourism offices from Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, Anguilla, Saba, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts and the BVI had taken place to discuss airlift and getting visitors, clients, to the different destinations, and from each other.
“The discussions were a kind of cross promotion of the Caribbean region.”
She said the major airlines are not targeted for SMART currently, but the future goal will be to get incentive travel, incentive planners, group travel business, and work on sustainability and growth.
Hopscotch Tours, a Dutch PR and Marketing Agency representing St. Maarten Tourism Bureau in the Netherlands and Belgium, attended SMART with two tour operators from Germany and three from the Netherlands.
“We had very good contacts to ask all the right questions to the right people, so we were all very happy with the SMART programme. I’m glad that we could all participate in it,” said Alexandra Vervoort, who said she would return next year with more tour operators.
Saint-Martin Tourism Office Deputy Director Priscillia Wachter was also enthusiastic about the event.
“From the French-side perspective we had the possibility to show our hotels and other assets that are key to the attractivity of the island. We had a lot of good exchanges about packages and the campaign that we will be able to do this year to continue to increase the number of tourists to the destination,” she said.
Elsewhere, Resort-for-a Day operated by World Travel Holdings was making its second visit to SMART. Its mission is to provide resort partners with a source of new revenue while providing cruise ship passengers with on-shore “daycations.”
In the vendor category, the app SXM Taxi, run by app developer Anthony Piacquadio and partner in the company Lissa Gumbs, made its debut at the show. This is a digital mobile platform for hailing a taxi and works only with licensed taxi drivers on the island.
“Being able to put out our product at SMART was definitely a benefit for us,” said Gumbs.
Piacquadio concurred, noting that in talks with local tour operators it had been learnt that they could need a shuttle service in the future to move people around.
“We were asked if we could add a portal on our app for shuttle service, so they don’t have to find their own shuttles and vehicles. We’re going to work with several of the companies to create this shuttle portal.
“We didn’t know what to expect, but all in all the show was beneficial, and also in terms of what is needed on the island from this type of application.”
Opening and closing parties, Funtopia stilt walkers, carnival dancers, steel pan music from Mighty Dow Orchestra, and a closing fireworks display all contributed to entertain delegates and enhance the island’s appeal and culture during the event.
