{"id":720,"date":"2019-06-17T13:28:12","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T11:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.mmm.ehb.be\/trm\/?p=720"},"modified":"2019-06-17T13:28:12","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T11:28:12","slug":"the-netherlands-palm-trees-tropical-beaches-and-reggae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/2019\/06\/17\/the-netherlands-palm-trees-tropical-beaches-and-reggae\/","title":{"rendered":"The Netherlands: Palm Trees, Tropical Beaches and Reggae"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p> Eind februari verhuisde ik naar het land van palmbomen, tropische stranden, lichtblauwe zee\u00ebn, reggae en barbecues op straat: Nederland. Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden telt namelijk  meer landen dan het koude Nederland van tulpen en molens. Deze andere landen liggen in de Caribbean en \u00e9\u00e9n hiervan was afgelopen maanden mijn thuis; Sint-Maarten.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"558\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.mmm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-team.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-team.jpg 750w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-team-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption>Team Sint-Maarten \/ Saint-Martin Annual Regional Trade Show (SMART)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Sint-Maarten is in 2017 geteisterd door orkaan Irma, die het eiland compleet verwoestte. Veel van deze schade en ellende is vandaag de dag nog maar al te goed aanwezig. Sint-Maarten is een beschadigd land, maar de comeback is ingezet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Toerisme is hier de grootste economische sector en de motor van het land. Elk jaar wordt een Trade Show georganiseerd om deze sector te vergroten en ondersteunen, maar deze kon vorig jaar niet doorgaan door de gevolgen van orkaan Irma. Deze Trade Show is dit jaar van cruciaal belang voor het toerisme op Sint-Maarten en moet de wereld laten weten dat Sint-Maarten back in business is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tijdens mijn stage bij the\nSint-Maarten Hospitality &amp; Trade Association (SHTA) heb ik geholpen met de\norganisatie van SMART, the Sint-Maarten \/ Saint-Martin Annual Regional Trade\nShow, die wij organiseerden in samenwerking met the Sint-Maarten Tourist Bureau,\nl\u2019Association des Hoteliers de Saint-Martin en l\u2019Office de Tourisme de Saint-Martin.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During SMART, buyers from all over the world had the opportunity to meet Suppliers from Sint-Maarten and its surrounding islands. On top of this, there was a buzzing alley of Vendors showcasing their products, a Green Room filled with sustainable initiatives and there were over 25  workshops to educate attendees on various relevant topics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SMART offered a free activity for every attendee to explore and experience the destination. There was a choice out of 4 activities ranging from sailing a yacht to an island tour. Buyers and Suppliers were also taken on Mystery Dinners. The mystery being: where to eat, what to eat and who to eat with. These were all kept a secret until the very last minute and were considered a big success! SMART 2019 ended with a closing party in a beach club on Saint-Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrappper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-729\" data-id=\"729\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.mmm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-2-1024x768.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-2-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">SMART 2019 in full effect!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-730\" data-id=\"730\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.mmm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-1024x768.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-1200x900.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Buyers &amp; Suppliers meeting during SMART 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I personally took up contact with all the buyers, suppliers and vendors and managed to get a record number of attendees. Buyers included big companies like Booking.com, American Airlines, AirBnB, Expedia and Tripadvisor. In total, more then 170 companies visited SMART coming from 28 different countries. SMART 2019 had visitors from Anguilla, Antigua, The Bahamas, Belgium, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Guadeloupe, Italy, Martinique, Montserrat, The Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Barths, St. Eustatius, Saint-Martin, Sint-Maarten, St. Kitts, Spain, The United Kingdom, The United States of America, Trinidad &amp; Tobago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the SMART-Team I was responsible for attracting\nthe Buyers, Suppliers and Vendors as well as organising &amp; managing the Mystery\nDinners and activities. I also took care of the official Guestlist, the Budget,\nand led a team during the event itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrappper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1003\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-731\" data-id=\"731\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.mmm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/closing-party.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/closing-party.jpg 750w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/closing-party-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">The Closing Party at KKO Beach (Saint-Martin)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"554\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-732\" data-id=\"732\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.mmm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/team-closing-party.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/team-closing-party.jpg 750w, https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/team-closing-party-300x222.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">The SHTA Team <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SMART 2019 was the biggest Trade Show of the Northeastern\nCaribbean and is considered the best SMART ever by many!<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eind februari verhuisde ik naar het land van palmbomen, tropische stranden, lichtblauwe zee\u00ebn, reggae en barbecues op straat: Nederland. Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden telt namelijk  meer landen dan het koude Nederland van tulpen en molens. Deze andere landen liggen in de Caribbean en \u00e9\u00e9n hiervan was afgelopen maanden mijn thuis; Sint-Maarten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":669,"featured_media":734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geen-categorie"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2019\/06\/SMART-team-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pavQFa-bC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/669"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":736,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions\/736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.mm.ehb.be\/trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}