St. Maarten featuring in the “Sky High” travel show in the Netherlands (see related story) is obviously welcome. With four episodes Saturdays and reruns Sundays this month on RTL4, the island will no doubt be in the picture among millions of expected Dutch viewers.
The programme reportedly includes various airings of a five-second promotional spot and an accompanying billboard along the busy A4 highway. In addition, the series will become available on Videoland, expanding its reach beyond live TV also to Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.
The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB) release mentions differentiating the destination from competitors such as Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. The so-called ABC islands already enjoy a strong demand from holidaymakers in the Netherlands.
Among reasons they have done better in this regard may be that the Dutch language is spoken more widely there than here, in addition to Papiamentu. However, most people in the European part of the kingdom do speak English.
Perhaps airlift is the biggest factor. TUI, Corendon and KLM combine for multiple daily flights from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam to the ABC islands, while only the latter touches down at Princess Juliana International several times a week.
Mind you, Air France offers a more frequent connection via Paris too, so it’s not like Dutch travellers can’t easily get here. The source market must simply be developed by generating interest and that’s what makes efforts like the one with “Sky High” important.
A point of general concern remains the lack of regular performance statistics for the local hospitality industry. Updated figures on air-arrivals and resort-occupancy rates should not be provided just once in a while or when convenient for whatever purpose, but as a matter of course.
Today’s successful tourism policies are data-driven.
