From left: St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Marketing Assistant Marla Chemont and St. Martin Tourism Office Promotional Manager Suzanne Scantlebery at Caribbean Travel Marketplace.
MARIGOT--French St. Martin’s Tourism Office and Dutch St. Maarten’s Tourist Bureau participated in the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace at Baha Mar in the Bahamas last week from January 21 to 23.
CHTA’s Marketplace is the Caribbean’s largest tourism marketing event with more than 1,000 delegates, tour operators and suppliers, along with representatives of 28 Caribbean countries in attendance. With a total of 11,000 prescheduled appointments, the conference provides multiple networking opportunities that reinforce existing relationships and foster new ones.
St. Martin and St. Maarten took the opportunity to sponsor the opening luncheon for this major forum for the second consecutive year. First Vice-President of the Collectivité’s Territorial Council and Tourist Office President Valérie Damaseau delivered the keynote address, assuring the audience that the island is once again open for business and expecting a very promising winter season.
Her remarks included a message from St. Maarten’s interim Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Rene F. Violenus who sent his apologies for being unable to attend.
The luncheon was extensively branded, with destination signage and flags of both countries on each table, and a promotional video played on a continuous loop. A group of models representing the destination collected business cards directly from the delegates.
In addition to the luncheon, there was a joint press conference presented by St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Director May-Ling Chun and St. Martin Tourism Office Director Aïda Weinum.
The attending media were given updates on the reconstruction developments for Princess Julianna International Airport as well as updates on cruises, restaurants and hotel openings such as the much-anticipated Secrets Resorts and Spa opening in March. A full calendar of events as well as top attractions were also highlighted in the presentation, and the media were given memory sticks with all the pertinent information.
“The team at the St. Martin Tourism Office is optimistic about the expansion of our tourism product for the year of 2020,” said Weinum. “Thanks to the support of our stakeholders, trusted travel partners and media, St. Martin remains a top Caribbean destination for exciting visitors. Participating in these meetings not only allows us to network but also to promote new hotel brands that are opening on island such as Secret Resorts and Spa, Planet Hollywood and The Morgan.”
The delegation shared a double booth on the floor of the CHTA Marketplace during the course of the two-day trade show and met with buyers worldwide, including tour operators and villa wholesalers such as Pleasant Holidays, Classic Vacations and Apple Leisure Group, and online travel agencies Booking.com and Expedia.
The team took advantage of the opportunity to promote St. Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) taking place May 19-21. The response from both industry partners and the media was exceptionally positive.
