SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) will once again take center stage at the St. Maarten / St. Martin Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) during its 19th edition, scheduled for June 22–26, 2026.

This year, the airport will participate through a “Hub Lounge,” a centrally located walk-in and appointment-based space showcasing the gateway’s strategies to visiting “spoke” destinations, travel partners, and airlines. The announcement was made today by the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), in close cooperation with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB), l’Office du Tourisme (OdT), and Club du Tourisme (CdT).

SMART 2025 attracted visitors from 29 countries and destinations. PJIA’s presence with a double “Hub Booth” at the binational tradeshow reflects its growth ambitions as a regional hub. Airport CEO Michael Cleaver stated: “With its strong alliances locally and internationally, Princess Juliana is a vital gateway for stay-over tourism and inter-island connectivity, and a cornerstone of the regional economy. One of our growth ambitions is to strengthen that role.”

The binational tourism industry event, held for over 25 years, highlights the island’s tourism and other industries. It gives visiting tourism partners a taste of the island’s culinary and cultural offerings while helping expand the local economy.

In addition to large and small hotels and tourism companies, participating industries include marketing and advertising, training services, media, telecom, retail, restaurants, food & beverage, and finance, representing both sides of the dual-nation St. Maarten / St. Martin.

As in the past two editions of SMART, Princess Juliana International Airport will use the event to meet current and prospective partners and share its next steps with stakeholders. Among these initiatives is the ambition to make the airport a destination in its own right: “An attraction within a destination, delivering seamless and memorable passenger experiences.”

The PJIA Hub Lounge will be one of the new features of SMART 2026, to be held at the JW Marriott. Other additions include a small hotels plaza, featuring dedicated tables for boutique properties, and the return of the “Green Room,” which highlights local NGOs working to improve the tourism product. An additional evening has been added to the program, and more event space will be made available, as both the 2024 and 2025 editions had all booths fully booked.

As of today, 79% of SMART booths have already been reserved. Given that booths for the past three editions consistently sold out, interested companies are encouraged to secure their spot at the 2026 event via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In addition to Princess Juliana International Airport and the four main organizing entities, many local companies also support the event. Amigo Tours, Rainforest Adventures, ShowMe Caribbean, Vin de Plage, Vin de Plage, Grant Thornton, CC1 St. Maarten, Port St. Maarten, Booking Success, Winair, Liberty Business, Copa Airlines, and Snap SXM are among the businesses contributing to making SMART 2026 a success.

SINT MAARTEN/CARIBBEAN - Caribbean tourism continued its expansion in 2025, recording a 2.5% increase in international stay-over arrivals to an estimated 35 million visits, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

This performance — approximately 900,000 more tourists than in 2024 — reflects the region’s sustained recovery and resilience with arrivals once again surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Despite a complex global environment marked by evolving economic conditions in key source markets, heightened geopolitical tensions and weather-related disruptions, including the passage of Hurricane Melissa, the region maintained steady tourism demand throughout much of the year.

“Caribbean tourism in 2025 demonstrated continued resilience and adaptability even as the global landscape presented a number of challenges,” said Aliyyah Shakeer, CTO’s Director of Research. “Strategic investments in tourism infrastructure, sustained marketing efforts, and incremental gains in airlift connectivity helped support growth and maintain the region’s competitiveness.”

Performance across the year was uneven but generally positive. While the first quarter recorded a slight contraction of 0.3% amid early-year uncertainty, arrivals rebounded in the second and third quarters with growth of 5% and 5.6%, respectively. The fourth quarter remained broadly stable with marginal growth of 0.2% as late-year momentum softened.

Monthly arrivals ranged between 2.1 million and 3.5 million, peaking during the traditional high-demand periods of March, July and December. Notably, all months in 2025 exceeded their corresponding 2019 levels, underscoring the strength of the region’s post-pandemic recovery.

Across destinations, performance remained mixed. Strong growth was recorded in several destinations, including Guyana, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Curaçao, reflecting ongoing product development and market diversification efforts.

At the same time, some destinations experienced contractions influenced by external economic pressures, capacity constraints and localized disruptions. Nevertheless, a majority of destinations have now surpassed their pre-pandemic benchmarks, highlighting the region’s overall recovery trajectory.

Source Markets

The United States remained the Caribbean’s largest source market, with arrivals increasing 0.5% to approximately 17 million visitors. While demand from this market remained relatively stable, performance was uneven across the year, reflecting more cautious consumer behavior and varying conditions across destinations.

Arrivals from Canada declined 5.3% to an estimated 3.1 million visitors, remaining below pre-pandemic levels, as higher travel costs and increased competition from alternative destinations influenced travel patterns.

Similarly, arrivals from Europe decreased 3.3% to approximately 5.1 million visitors with recovery continuing at a slower pace compared with other markets.

In contrast, South America emerged as the strongest-performing source market with arrivals increasing 23.7% to 2.4 million visits. This growth was supported by improved air connectivity, targeted marketing initiatives and rising outbound demand, contributing to a gradual diversification of the region’s source markets.

Intra-regional travel also showed modest improvement, increasing 5.1%, although ongoing challenges related to air connectivity and travel costs continued to constrain growth.

Caribbean Hotel Performance

The Caribbean hotel sector posted mixed results in 2025. According to CoStar, average room occupancy declined slightly to 63.7% from 65% in 2024. However, the Average Daily Rate (ADR) rose 2.1% to US$350.37 while Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased modestly by 0.8% to $223.12.

Performance varied across destinations with several markets recording growth across key indicators and others experiencing declines, reflecting uneven demand patterns and localized market conditions.

Cruise Tourism Performance

The cruise sector continued its strong expansion in 2025 with total cruise visits increasing 5.2% to an estimated 35.5 million visits. This represents a significant 16.7% increase over pre-pandemic 2019 levels, confirming the sector’s full recovery and continued growth trajectory.

Growth in cruise activity was evident throughout the year with particularly strong performance in the fourth quarter driven by increased capacity and strong seasonal demand. The Bahamas remained the leading cruise destination, receiving a record 10.7 million visits, followed by several high-performing destinations across the region.

The continued expansion of cruise itineraries, fleet capacity and port infrastructure has supported sustained growth in this segment, reinforcing its importance to the region’s overall tourism performance.

Outlook

Looking ahead, the outlook for Caribbean tourism remains cautiously optimistic. The sector is expected to transition into a phase of more moderate, stable growth as global travel patterns normalize.

“While growth is expected to continue, the pace of expansion may ease as the industry navigates a shifting global environment,” noted Shakeer. “Maintaining a steady focus on strengthening air connectivity, particularly intra-regional connectivity; enhancing product offerings; and diversifying source markets will be important to supporting sustained growth and resilience over the longer term.”

Notwithstanding current travel and tourism challenges, CTO projects that stay-over arrivals will increase between 3% and 4% in 2026, supported by steady demand from North America and continued expansion in select emerging markets. Cruise tourism is also expected to grow further with projected increases between 5% and 7%.

However, ongoing global uncertainties — including economic conditions, travel costs and external geopolitical developments — may continue to influence travel demand and performance across destinations.

“Caribbean tourism continues to demonstrate its resilience in the face of evolving global conditions, but this is no time for complacency. We must remain vigilant and proactive, working together as a united region to navigate uncertainty and sustain our momentum,” said Dona Regis-Prosper, CTO Secretary-General & CEO. “By strengthening collaboration, enhancing air connectivity and advancing responsible tourism practices, we can ensure long-term growth that benefits our people and economies.”

Regis-Prosper asserted the Caribbean remains well-positioned as a highly desirable destination, supported by its diverse tourism offerings, strong brand appeal and continued commitment to sustainable and regenerative tourism development.

SINT MAARTEN (COMMENTARY - By Lilia Burunciuc) - During one of my visits to Sint Maarten, I spoke with a woman who works as a taxi driver. She had once held a job in a hotel that was highly seasonal, leaving her with little or no income during the off-season and few opportunities to increase her earnings.

Determined to change her situation, she moved into the transport sector, starting out as a taxi driver. She worked long hours during the high season, saved money, and later rented an additional vehicle and hired another driver.

Today, she operates two vehicles in addition to her own, with plans to expand. She is dreaming of a house and sending her kids to college.

Over the years, during my visits to Sint Maarten, I have met women like her repeatedly; women who create opportunities for themselves. They are willing to learn new things, take risks, and continue, even when things are hard.

This determination is visible not only in households and small businesses, but also in public life. Today, women hold nearly half of the seats in Sint Maarten’s Parliament - around 46.7 percent - reflecting how widely women are stepping into leadership roles across the island.

The leadership women bring across the island is among Sint Maarten's greatest strengths and a clear economic advantage. Evidence consistently shows that companies with gender-diverse leadership are more likely to outperform others, and closing gender gaps in employment could raise global GDP by more than 20 percent.

Political representation, however, does not automatically translate into broad-based economic opportunity. Many women continue to face constraints that limit their ability to expand businesses, increase incomes, or access capital. Barriers to finance, professional networks, and supportive services still shape how fully their economic potential can be realized.

For a small island economy like Sint Maarten, the implications are particularly significant. With a small population, few sources of economic activity, and exposure to natural shocks, growth depends on making full use of talent which already exists. When more women are able to earn higher incomes, invest, and grow their businesses, productivity rises and households become more resilient in times of uncertainty.

This is why women’s economic participation is embedded in the World Bank’s work in Sint Maarten. Through the Sint Maarten Trust Fund, financed by the Government of the Netherlands and managed by the World Bank in partnership with the Government of Sint Maarten, our support in the years following Hurricane Irma went beyond rebuilding homes and critical infrastructure.

It also focused on restoring livelihoods, helping small businesses reopen and grow, and giving people the practical skills needed to turn ideas into income. Women were given particular attention in this work. 

And the results show how strongly women responded when opportunities were made available.

Through the Emergency Income Support and Training Project, people received temporary income support and practical training to help them find work and start earning again. More than 1,900 people participated in the program, and over 70 percent were women, highlighting both how significantly the crisis affected women’s employment and how ready they were to re-enter the labor market.

The Trust Fund has also provided more than US$19.3 million to over 300 small businesses on the island, and 124 of those were led by women. With this financing, women have opened bakeries, catering services, neighborhood shops, and businesses as diverse as mushroom production.

These enterprises are now employing others and keeping economic activity rooted locally. They have also received tailored training and coaching in financial literacy and core business skills, from planning and marketing to tax compliance, giving them the tools to grow sustainably.

This progress matters. It means more women are able to move beyond subsistence and begin planning for growth, just like the taxi driver I spoke with.

Building on this progress, the priority in Sint Maarten is to expand what works: increasing access to finance, strengthening the link between skills and jobs, and creating support systems that make it possible to balance care responsibilities with paid work.

These are the investments that will allow more women, and the island as a whole, to keep moving forward.

By Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Division Director for the Caribbean

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten on Tuesday outlined reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business, during the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) Town Hall at the Belair Community Center.

Addressing a cross section of the business community, the Minister stressed that economic growth requires partnership between Government and the private sector, supported by trust, dialogue, and collaboration.

A key development is a pilot within the Department of Economic Licenses allowing certain applications to be submitted online, moving toward more accessible and transparent service delivery. This forms part of broader efforts to modernise systems and reduce administrative barriers.

The Minister also acknowledged that unclear requirements often discourage entrepreneurs. An information campaign is therefore being developed to better guide the public on procedures, documentation, and compliance.

Beyond licensing, she highlighted the role of the St. Maarten Small Enterprise Development Centre (SEDC) in supporting entrepreneurs through training and guidance, and pointed to continued focus on economic diversification, including opportunities within the Orange, Green, and Blue economies. The Agri Loans initiative, offering financing at two percent interest, was cited as one example.

The Minister further called for fairness and transparency within the business sector, noting the need to balance support for local businesses with affordability for the community.

She also underscored the importance of initiatives such as COCI’s Start Smart programme, which helps individuals transition from ideas to structured businesses.

Looking ahead, Government is working toward an integrated digital platform where users can apply, track, and manage business processes in one place.

The Minister reaffirmed Government’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with COCI and the wider business community.