ST. MAARTEN 'SMART 2012' SLATED FOR MAY 16 - 18;

TRADESHOW TO HIGHLIGHT EASTERN CARIBBEAN TOURISM PRODUCTS Hosted By Radisson Blue Resort, Marina & Spa, St. Martin

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (Jan. 25, 2012) - The St. Maarten Annual Regional Trade Show (SMART) is slated for May 16 - 18, 2012 at the Radisson Blue Resort, Marina & Spa in St. Martin where the region comes together to support, interact and work together to promote tourism to the Eastern Caribbean.

After years of success and progress, SMART 2012 focuses on St. Maarten and its neighboring islands in the Eastern Caribbean and has become a significant event to the region in the recent years.

This year, tourism entities from St. Maarten, St. Martin, Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, B.V.I., Dominica, Guadaloupe, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barthes, St. Eustatius and St. Kitts & Nevis are expected to come together for the show.

SMART 2012 kicks off on Wednesday, May 16th where delegates have the opportunity to meet and mingle with their peers at a welcome reception before the first day of business begins.  Throughout the trade show, participants can setup appointments with travel partners and wholesalers as well as hotel and excursion operations for one-on -one discussions on potential business ventures.

More information about SMART 2012 can be found at http://www.shta.com/smart.

            While the tiny island of St. Maarten (it is only 37 square miles) is arguably the most popular vacation destination in the Northeastern Caribbean, it is but one of several tightly knit islands that are all just a hop, skip and jump away from one another.

For starters, Anguilla sits a mere seven miles north of St. Maarten and is a must for scuba divers due to its ecologically important coral formations.  Southeast of St. Maarten lies the elegant island of St. Barthes, and Saba is a tiny dormant volcano island owing its natural beauty to lush vegetation rather than large beach areas.  Not to be left out, another nearby dormant volcano island is saddle-shaped St. Eustatius, named after the Catholic Saint Eustace.

Of course, to arrive at the closest nation to St. Maarten, one needs not to take a boat or plane - one can simply drive from Dutch St. Maarten to the French side of the island, known as St. Martin.

Each of these countries, and others, will be represented in some capacity at SMART 2012, adding further significance to the most important regional trade show in the Northeastern Caribbean.

            For more information on St. Maarten, visit http://www.VacationStMaarten.com.