News that Americans may once again stay on the French side (see related story) from December 1 was no doubt welcomed throughout the community. For an island with a one-pillar tourism economy, excluding its biggest market basically means little to no income.
It seems they might need to submit a different coronavirus test than Dutch St. Maarten currently requires, because the five-day term for a negative PCR result is not valid in France. There is mention of antigen testing, which the Dutch side will also accept within 24 hours before travel starting Wednesday, November 25, opening the door to an obviously desirable coordination of policies in this respect.
With the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday there are signs that increased arrivals can be expected. Several airlines have already begun expanding flights or initiating routes, such as JetBlue adding New Jersey to its existing service from three other cities.
Local hotels and timeshare resorts have experienced a rise in bookings for the weeks and months ahead. While the latter is nothing unusual going into the traditional high season, it shows that despite the continued grim COVID-19 picture in the US and all the turmoil surrounding its recent presidential election, many people apparently still crave a vacation in the sun during the upcoming winter and will do what is needed to take one.
This makes wearing a facemask where appropriate, frequent hand sanitising and social distancing even more important, to protect residents, including hospitality workers, and to ensure the destination remains relatively low corona-risk, which could play a big role in determining where potential visitors go. Not only that, but the local health care capacity must always be considered.
Nevertheless, it is time to finally get back to “everybody’s business” in earnest, be it now “new normal style.”
