721 Area Code – Philipsburg, Sint Maarten: Location, Time Zone & History

Area code 721 belongs to Sint Maarten, the Dutch southern half of the island of Saint Martin, which has been an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 2010. NANPA granted the country its own code on July 27, 2011, after the 2010 dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles left it needing a numbering plan of its own. A permissive dialing period beginning September 30, 2011 let callers use either the old +599-5x country code or the new +1-721 prefix, and the transition was completed on September 30, 2012.

Sint Maarten's economy runs overwhelmingly on tourism and hospitality, which employs roughly 80% of the workforce and centers on Princess Juliana International Airport and the cruise port at Philipsburg, the capital and largest city. Offshore banking and financial services, gaming and casinos, and yachting and marina services around Simpson Bay Lagoon round out the island's commercial base.

Sint Maarten shares its small landmass with French Saint-Martin, making it one of the smallest territories in the world divided between two sovereign nations, and English is the most widely spoken first language even though Dutch is official, reflecting a mixed African, European, and North American heritage. The island is famous for the Maho Beach flight path, where jets pass low over sunbathers, and for its annual Heineken Regatta and Carnival season blending Caribbean and Dutch traditions. Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage in September 2017, though the tourism economy has since been substantially rebuilt.