Participation of the St. Martin Tourism Office at the “Feria Internacional de Turismo” in Argentina (as reported in Wednesday’s newspaper) was a good move. South America remains a largely untapped source of visitors for the destination. The two-day forum was used to update both industry professionals and other attendees on the post-Hurricane Irma reconstruction and renovation of the hotel inventory.
While direct flights are always ideal, the current twice-weekly service by Copa Airlines from Panama offers good connections with practically the entire continent. It also avoids a stopover in Miami and related US visa requirements.
Regarding Argentina, the release mentioned certain similarities between the European culture of that country and the French side. Another advantage is creating business during the island’s traditional low season when it is winter there between May and August, which is desirable in terms of stimulating year-round employment for socioeconomic reasons.
But Brazil, Colombia as well as other nations in that region too offer great potential and an opportunity to diversify the stayover tourism market, making the island less vulnerable in an ever-changing world filled with growing uncertainty. It comes down to not putting all eggs in one proverbial basket.
Although one can easily dismiss promotional travels and call them pleasure trips, sitting at home waiting for something to happen is not the way to go. Sure, online booking campaigns are important, but creating and maintaining a favourable presence in the hospitality sector still requires personal attention and use of more avenues to advertise the product.
That the SeaDream II will be homeporting in St. Maarten from December 9 is obviously good news, not in the last place because it regards a large luxurious yacht catering to high-end passengers who appreciate the “casual elegance” and will no doubt be a welcome addition. It can also help attract more cruise lines.
Such developments typically don’t just occur on their own. They are usually the result of hard work and lots of efforts, which includes going out to attract business when appropriate.
There has been much talk lately of reinventing, rethinking, revamping and/or rediscovering tourism. However, at the end of the day the here-and-now is about heads in beds and passengers disembarking ships, so that people can continue putting bread on the table.
