It was interesting to read in Monday’s paper about the upcoming visit of a production crew to record two “Life is Beautiful” programmes that will be shown on Dutch television and other media channels. It involves Hevesta Sint Maarten BV, which manages Sapphire Beach Club Resort.
This initiative’s promotional value should not be underestimated. The Netherlands has become a major tourism source market for particularly Curaçao but Aruba and Bonaire too; however, that is much less the case for the Windward Islands.
There are many reasons, including greater use of the Dutch language in the so-called ABC islands and a historically bigger presence of entities from the European part of the kingdom, partly due to the former Royal Shell refinery and Willemstad being the capital of the since-dismantled Netherlands Antilles as well as seat of its Central Government. St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba, on the other hand, are more US-oriented.
Nevertheless, additional traffic out of the Netherlands at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) is most welcome, especially during the low season. Mention was made of “perfect timing” for last-minute end-of-summer travel and with TUI flights from Amsterdam expected to start again.
While the latter is yet to be confirmed, it would certainly be good news. Although KLM services the route two or three times per week and its partner Air France provides a practically daily connection via Paris, the prospect of some competition also in terms of ticket fares is an attractive one.
