Saba again present at Holiday Fair

The Bottom, Saba – Saba will again be present at this year’s Holiday Fair (“Vakantiebeurs”). The fair will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, next week, from January 15-19. Saba has been attending the travel fair for over 20 years.

At the Holiday Fair, Saba will share a larger booth with the tourism office of Dutch St. Maarten. Sharing a booth is more cost-effective, Director of the Saba Tourism Bureau Glenn Holm pointed out. Furthermore, it is conducive in promoting Saba and St. Maarten as complimentary destinations for travelers who wish to visit both islands.

Sharing a booth also gives content to the cooperation that Saba has with St. Maarten in the area of tourism. Last year, Saba Commissioner Bruce Zagers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with then St. Maarten Minister of Tourism Stuart Johnson to work on a closer cooperation.

Attending the Holiday Fair is important, said Director Holm. “We have to maintain our presence. The Holiday Fair is the only large trade show that we attend in Europe. It is important to attend at least one travel fair and Saba being part of the Netherlands, it makes sense to attend the Holiday Fair.”

While in the Netherlands, the Saba delegation has a number of meetings scheduled. A meeting will take place with a diving magazine (“Duiken”) and a hiking magazine (“Wandelmagazine”). The delegation will also meet with a representative of Green Destinations to discuss Saba’s assessment later this year. Saba has had a Quality Coast Award for several years. Saba is now at a silver level, and wants to advance to gold.

Meetings have been scheduled with several travel agencies. Some members of the Saba delegation will attend a marketing training in the area of social media while in the Netherlands. Saba’s new tourism representative in the Netherlands, Sharuska Oleana, who is originally from Saba, will also be present at the Holiday Fair for a few days. Oleana will be attending several smaller trade shows in the Netherlands this year on behalf of Saba.