Statia Tourist Office staff travels to SXM to attend SMART Tradeshow

Teena Lopes, Maya Leon-Pandt and Sharmin Turner are the 3 representatives for the Statia Tourist office who will be attending the 10th annual SMART Tradeshow scheduled to start May 25 and end on May 27 2011 at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort and Spa.

The three are prepared and ready to tell all visitors at the tradeshow about the rich history of the island and invite them to come and dive or snorkel in our crystal clear waters or take a stroll through our peaceful town, Oranjestad.

SMART is a conference which provides the venue for International Buyers to network and negotiate future business opporunities with suppliers in the tourism industry. The most improtant Travel Industry Partners and Wholesale Travel Agents have been invited to the conference as well.

Rebels Band off to Atlanta

Rebels Band HD have accepted an invitation extended to them by Atlanta Caribbean Carnival Bandleaders Association to take part in the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival from May 27 - May 31 2011.

No stranger to performing in the US Rebels band is ready to explode on stage in Atlanta. The band recently performed at Miami Carnival in October 2010 where they set the crowd ablaze with their popular hits like "wuk up" and "run behind the truck".

Atlanta, get ready for this high energy performance group!

International Destination Expo held in Puerto Rico

Oranjestad-St.Eustatius, International Destination Expo held in San Juan, Puerto Rico by the American Society of Travel Agents was a huge success. Over 700 travel agents from around the world got a chance to visit Statia’s exhibitors booth and learn about Statia’s important role in the US independence.

ASTA known as the world’s largest travel trade association put together an outstanding event from April 14-17. There were great educational seminars and networking oportunities between travel agents and exhibitors. “Here is were I got the opportunity to speak about St.Eustatius as a caribbean destination. Surprisingly most of the travel agents had never heard that Statia was the first foreign nation to officially recognize the newly formed United States of America, so I re-told this story over and over as each agent visited Statia’s booth at the trade show,” said Lavinia Mitchell Public Relations Officer for the St.Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation.

Several travel agents were very interested in the rich history that Statia has to offer and said that they specifically cater to tourists who are not just interested in sun, sea and sand or bustling night life but prefer nature, tranquility and most of all, their safety. These are precisely some of what Statia has to offer.

The St.Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation would like to express their gratitude to Winair and Insel Air for their continued support in assisting the Tourist Office in their mission to promote tourism on Statia.

Peru will be the host of the International Destination Expo for 2012 and based on the success of the show that ASTA organized in Puerto Rico, St.Eustatius is looking forward to being an exhibitor there as well.

“St.Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation has received these new promotional Number plates. All interested persons can contact the Tourist Office in Fort Oranje at 318 2433." A small fee will be charged.

NEW PROMOTIONAL DVD FOR STATIA IN THE MAKING

Oranjestad, St.Eustatius – Ben Stiefelhagen of “GET WET MARITIEM” and Klaudie Bartelink of “LEARNING BY ACTION”, both of the Netherlands are in charge of shooting a promotional video for the Statia Tourist Office.
The couple arrived on the island on Tuesday April 19 and spent 10 days moving around the island filming hotels, restaurants, historical attractions, churches, STENAPA, the museum, the easter weekend beach activities and much more. They also went on11 different dives to get extensive under water coverage for the videa.
Mr. Stiefelhagen had visited the island about 3 years ago with his fiance Ms. Bartelink and was so impressed with what they saw that they made a 3 minute dive video. The quality of this dive video inspired the Tourist Office to invite the couple back to Statia to shoot this new promotional video which will be used to promote the island abroad during trade shows. It lasts for 7-8 minutes and will be ready in early June 2011.


Before leaving the island the couple donated a complete wet suit (including a BCD jacket and booties) to the Director of the St.Eustatius National Park Foundation Ms. Kate Walker and Marine Park Manager, Jessica Berkel who were more than pleased to receive this generous gift.
WINAIR has always been a willing participant in helping to promote tourism on Statia, said Miss Mitchell, Public Relations Officer for The St.Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation “so we extend our sincere gratitude to WINAIR for providing air transportation to our guests Ben and Klaudie.”

CTO Communication Specialist On Statia For Workshop

Mr. Johnson Johnrose, the Communication Specialist for the Caribbean Tourism Organization gave a two day workshop on Public Relations-Media Skills Coaching and Crisis Communications.
The workshop was held and the Gertrude Judson Library and was well attended by a cross section of the community including the police department, GIS, Red Cross and the Tourist Office staff.