Philipsburg:--- Eight key travel wholesalers from Central and South America along with Copa Airline's Director of Distribution and Planning, LuisFabrega, have just left St. Maarten after an important destination familiarization (Fam trip). This Fam trip was organized and hosted by the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (STB) and made possible through a generous contribution by The St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA).SMTA Chairwoman, Mayra Provence said "It is important for us all to realize that the private sector must do its part, hand in hand with our Government, to make St. Maarten successful. We were pleased to partner with the Tourism Bureau in doing a small part in developing the Central and South American market for the island."
The wholesalers were on the island in order to help increase sales for the upcoming Copa flights. The countries represented were; Panama, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, and Costa Rica. Native Spanish speakers, SMTA's Mayra, and Ricardo Perez accompanied the group around the island for much of the time.
Complimentary rooms and breakfast were hosted by Divi Little Bay Resort. While on island the group visited a wide variety of hotels and timeshare properties where they were provided complimentary meals. Temptations restaurant and Pineapple Pete's also provided complimentary dinners in order to showcase St. Maarten's culinary attraction. Additionally, the Anguilla Tourism Board hosted the Copa group for a few hours where they visited a few hotel properties and were provided lunch.
Copa Airlines, which is scheduled to make its inaugural flight to St. Maarten on December 18, 2010, has already increased the size of the jet to service St. Maarten due to initial demand. Acting head of the STB, Gus Priest said, "It was up to all of us to make sure these new visitors go back to their countries to spread the good word about St. Maarten."
