Carnival Queen Shanice Powell to Represent St.Maarten at 3 Major Conferences

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Carnival Queen Shanice Powell was surprised by Posh Productions when she was informed that she was representing St. Maarten as a Brand Ambassador and attend the upcoming Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) conference in Mexico, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) state of the industry conference in Grenada and world routes show in Barcelona later this year. 

St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (STB) head Rolando Brison congratulated the queen on her win and said she would be a great Brand Ambassador.  “The Ministry of tourism is happy to support Posh with this and the Minister believes in having representation abroad from people who know about the island and Miss St. Maarten is the best person who can talk to the outside world about our great island,” said Brison.

Three Receive Royal Decorations

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Three persons received royal decorations for their longstanding and continued involvement in the development of the community through training, youth and sports development and medical, emergency care and response. Pinned by Governor Eugene Holiday on the occasion of the 50th birthday of King Willem-Alexander were Elmora Pantophlet- Aventurin, Theo Liu and Joana  Rijnboutt. All three were decorated as member in the Order of Oranje Nassau at a ceremony held in The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa last week.  “A review of the contributions of these three persons to the St. Maarten community reveals a common thread of reaching out to foster healthy bodies and minds,” the Governor said. “...  They have influenced and as such helped to positively shape the lives of many in our country over a prolonged number of years.

Holland House Gets Green Key Award

hollandhouseHolland House Beach Hotel has been awarded the eco-label Green Key for the first time joining third-time awarded Princess Height Boutique Hotel. This milestone will be marked at a ceremony on June 1, at Holland House, hosted by Environmental Protection in the Caribbean foundation and St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association.  The Green key is the leading standard of excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable practice within the tourism industry.  A green key stands for the promise to its guests that by opting to stay in a Green Key establishment, they are contributing to making a difference on an environmental level.

Visit Holland House.

Content courtesy of Caribbean Gems.

Travel Show Feature on St.Maarten

thetravelshowMinister of Tourism Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher praised part one of the BBC Travel Show feature on St. Maarten over the weekend as ‘marketing and promotion you cannot buy” and a “terrific marketing opportunity for the island. She urged the public to check out the episode via BBC or when the link to the episode is placed on www.vacationstmaarten.com. The BBC Travel Show is Europe’s most-watched travel show, seen by potentially 250 million people around the globe. The 30-minute episode about SXMusic Festival will be broadcast within the next 3-4 weeks to a major portion of the 265 million direct subscribers of the BBC channels that broadcast the show, plus many other affiliates around the world and potentially millions of viewers more across YouTube and social media.

Largest Airlift Conference Ever Held in the Caribbean

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The upcoming 2nd Annual Caribbean Aviation Meetup in St. Maarten June 13-15 may be called the most significant and largest airlift conference ever held in the Caribbean. The numbers speak for themselves as thirty highly qualified professionals make thirty presentations spread out over three days.Conference participants are from 28 countries. Airlift is not just an aviation or airline matter.  Its impact is vital for any economy. The number of tourists who are flying to visit a destination determines the overnight stays. The overnight stays are related to how may rooms are occupied, how many restaurants are visited and for how many days cars are rented.  It is therefore that this conference gathers stakeholders from both the aviation and tourism industries.

The conference venue of Caribbean Aviation Meetup is the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino.

For more information, visit Caribbean Aviation Meetup.

 

Increased Numbers for Cruise Passenger Arrivals

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A 4.6 per cent growth in cruise passenger arrivals to the country has been reported by port of St. Maarten for January through April. This translated into a total of 833,755 passengers via 324 ship calls. The destination received 796,957 cruise passengers in the same period in 2016. That year ended with the destination receiving close to 1.7 million cruise passengers via 602 ship calls. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) recently released its first Cruise Industry Consumer Outlook of 2017 that revealed traveller insights, outlooks and attitudes regarding cruising and land-based travel. Cruise travel is becoming more popular and awareness more favourable among all types of travellers. Of those asked, nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) said their overall awareness of cruise vacations has improved within the last two years.

Content Courtesy Caribbean Gems

St.Maarten/St.Martin Number 2 in the Caribbean

tripadvisorTripAdvisor announced this week that St. Maarten/St. Martin has achieved the number two position as a Caribbean destination, and 19th spot worldwide. The sharp increase was the result of a shared St. Maarten Tourist Bureau & St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) campaign that started in 2016.

TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice (TC) Awards are based on millions of personal reviews from the world’s most popular travel community. The awards recognize exceptional properties and destinations. Winning the award is achieved by a combination of popularity, comments by visitors and overall ranking on TripAdvisor.

 

St. Maarten News Highlights courtesy of Caribbean Gems

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