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Published On: Sun, Dec 17th, 2017

SHTA & Carib Beer Call for Sharing 2018 Events to Show Sint Maarten is Open Again

Philipsburg — The Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) and Carib Beer call on companies and NGO’s to send in events they are planning for 2018 for their National Event Calendar. By launching the calendar three months after hurricane Irma, partners seek to promote events to show Sint Maarten again is a vibrant place and recovering from the devastation. This year, special emphasis goes out to NGO’s and small scale community events.

In 2016, SHTA launched its 2017 national calendar experiment. Inspiring design by local artist Loic Bryan encouraged showcasing of the poster in many public spaces. Next to a distribution campaign, the calendars were part of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta and the Sint Maarten / Saint-Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) goodie bags. Next to deliberate dispersion, the poster was downloaded hundreds of times in the past year and was even requested to be sent to other countries, such as Aruba, the United States, and the Netherlands. Last but not least, all events were spread by digital calendars, apps, newsletters, and social media of the SHTA.

Carib Beer partnered with the SHTA in last year’s edition and is on board again as main sponsor for the 2018 edition. The beer, popular by locals and tourists is happy to be a part of the initiative that should send a positive message that St. Maarten is still full of fun and excitement.

Because of its functionality for both locals and visitors looking for upcoming events, as well as its benefits for managerial planning, the project will increase in scope this year. For the 2018 edition, SHTA is looking forward to highlight small scale societal events held by not-for profit organizations that could use the extra attention. In the wake of hurricane Irma it is exactly those organizations that have meant the most for the Sint Maarten people, having the greatest difficulty of continuing their efforts due to lack of funding. Whereas member and non-member companies pay a small printing fee for having their event publicized, for its 2018 editions NGO’s and foundations are offered a free publication for one Calendar event.

For NGO’s, even more exposure is possible. Back in June, SHTA newsletter began publishing the “NGO of the week” column, which is specifically aimed to highlight the NGOs of Sint Maarten to SHTA members. If deemed desirable, societal organizations can have their profile distributed freely in SHTA’s newsletter.

Event submissions for the 2018 Events Calendar qualify as long as they are (1) interesting for visitors and are (2) publicly accessible for anyone. The offer of free early bird placement will be in place until December 20th. Event submissions can be forwarded to office@shta.com; please ensure that the following information is included: date, time, location, and any other crucial information pertaining to the event.