A public advisory warning has been issued by the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) against unauthorized Carnival “experience packages” currently being marketed for the 2026 festivities.
The foundation announced that it has become aware of various entities advertising packaged Carnival experiences for next year’s celebration, prompting officials to clarify their position on these unauthorized offerings, Loop News reports.
The foundation stated in its announcement, “The SCDF would like to clarify that it has no agreement with any entity to offer such packaged Carnival experiences, nor has it endorsed any of them”.
The warning comes as the foundation seeks to protect both local and international consumers from potentially fraudulent schemes capitalizing on the popularity of St. Maarten’s annual Carnival celebration.
The SCDF officials are urging both the local business community and international visitors, to exercise extreme caution before making any financial commitments to initiatives that lack official SCDF sanction.
The 55th St. Maarten Carnival Celebrations is set to be held from April 16th to May 4th, 2026.
