PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, organized a Sunset Networking Mixer onboard Aquamania's Lambada, last Friday evening. "Although we live on an island in the Caribbean surrounded by turquoise waters, we tend to miss out on much of the fun that our tourists come to our island for. Working in the hospitality industry can become a little overwhelming at times and we could all use some time out of the office to enjoy a relaxing sunset cruise, together with our business partners" said SHTA's Executive Director, Karen Hana.
SHTA Board Member and Managing Director of Indigo Bay, Marc van de Bilt was very pleased with the high turn-out and thanked the SHTA team for organizing the cruise. "I think all agreed it was a great success and everyone I talked to would welcome more of these "networking events" being organized by SHTA. In addition to catching up with "old" friends and business contacts I hadn't seen for a while, this networking event actually generated several new business leads for Indigo. Events like these also provide an excellent opportunity for SHTA to invite prospective members so they can have a "sample" before joining SHTA. I look forward to attending the next networking event."
Many of the new SHTA members that recently joined the association, including MGM Consulting, Budget Marine, Bluebeard Charters, Alicia's Inn and WINAIR, were able to network with the existing SHTA members. 2014 has been a great year for the association, including the St. Maarten Annual Regional Trade Show, the Political Mixers, their Annual General Meeting with Prof. Ryan Peterson as the guest speaker on engaged education, and most recently, the Employment Law Seminar. More than 35 new companies have joined the efforts of the SHTA this year and the membership base has grown to almost 180 members.
The next Membership Mixer is scheduled for December 4th, 2014, when Prof. Age Bakker and several other representatives of the CFT will be conducting a presentation for all of the SHTA members and answering from the audience. For more information on upcoming SHTA events and on how to become a member, please contact the SHTA office at 542-0108, via e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit their website www.shta.com.
SHTA Press Release
