USA/Canada Promotion Officer Sacha Bresse (back row, right) working the St. Martin stand in Toronto during St. Martin Tourism Office’s Canada promotional tour with Atout France.
MARIGOT--St. Martin Tourism Office took part in a major promotional tour across Canada February 19-23, from Montreal to Vancouver, via Toronto and Calgary. The roadshow was organised by Atout France, France's tourism development agency.
“North America remains the leading outbound market for St. Martin, but Canada is a fast-growing source of visitors,” the Tourism Office stated in a release. “Canada has seen a marked increase in recent years. More than 25,000 passengers were welcomed at Princess Juliana International Juliana Airport (PJIA) in 2023, thanks to the country’s four major airlines serving St. Maarten.
“Air Canada, Air Transat, West Jet and Sunwing operate seven weekly rotations during the high season. The Tourism Office needs to maintain maximum visibility in this market. As part of the ‘Destination France’ operation each year, Atout France positions partner institutions interested in this market in Canada.”
USA/Canada Promotion Officer Sacha Bresse from the Tourism Office presented St. Martin to a wide selection of travel agents and travel professionals. Alongside destinations Martinique, Saint-Tropez, the Occitanie Region, the Pyrenees, Château d'Amboise, Club Med and around 20 other French tourism operators, the representative held court at the St. Martin stand in the heart of the four largest cities.
The stops included Montreal on February 19, Toronto on February 20, Calgary on February 21 and Vancouver on February 22. The Canadian roadshow offered a wealth of opportunities for French representatives who came to promote their destinations with travel agents and invited tour operators.
It was an opportunity for the Tourism Office to cover several Canadian cities in a single trip, taking advantage of the Atout France network to meet a selection of professionals able to market St. Martin as a destination.
There were also several meetings with travel agents and the media in Vancouver. The aim was to optimise the West Coast of Canada, a highly promising market for travellers in search of new sun destinations.
“In all, more than 70 Canadian travel professionals discovered everything the Friendly Island has to offer, an essential initiative that has enabled us to develop relationships with these service providers, communicate about new offers and encourage the programming of stays,” the Tourism Office concluded.
