Great Bay– A group of 7 journalists from Belgium and Holland arrived here Sunday, April 11 for a six day visit at the invitation of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.The theme of this press trip was "Romance in St. Maarten." The objective was for the writers to experience and further explore the romantic getaways, honeymoon as well as spa and wellness options the island has to offer.
During their stay, the writers undertook an island tour with stops at various historical sites and other points of interest, explored some of the island's beaches and excursions and attractions such as the Golden Eagle, Lord Sheffield, the Nature Park and Loterie Farm. The group sampled our culinary delights and were very "The food here is soooo good" said Bart Schuller of the St. Maarten Tourist Office in Holland.
"The idea was to give the writers a first-hand experience of what makes St. Maarten so unique as one of the Caribbean's top tourist destinations," Director of Tourism, Ms. Regina LaBega disclosed. She said the main focus of the visit was romance and the island's famed gastronomical offerings.
"We wanted them to find out first-hand why St. Maarten is the gastronomic capital of the Caribbean. We are also hoping that their visit will generate quite some exposure in the European market where we are working very hard to carve a niche and increase our market share," LaBega added.
The group consisted of Kim van Dam - Zin Magazine, Marieke Brouwer - Ze.nl, Ank Herstel- Mostert - Uitgeverij Groot Hellevoet, Lieve Claeys - Goed gevoel, Sanne van Kuijck - Talkies Magazine NL, Muriël Swartenbroekx - Talkies Be and Bart Schuller of the St. Maarten Tourist Office in the Netherlands.
The group was to leave on Friday, April 16. However, due to the closing of the European airspace due to the volcanic activity in Iceland, the group was not able to return to Europe until Wednesday April 21.
A special thanks goes out to the Sonesta Maho Resort and Casino who accommodated the stranded writers during part of their stay.