On Sunday, March 1, the cruise ship MS Braemar of Fred. Olson Cruise Lines received permission to do a turnaround in St. Maarten, after its homeport of the Dominican Republic had refused entry due to persons being sick on board, although there was no indication they were infected by the dreaded coronavirus. Their symptoms turned out to be inconsistent with COVID-19, so Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs allowed the vessel to disembark its passengers and fly them out via Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA).
Incoming passengers were flown in on the same planes to board the vessel before its departure. Not everyone agreed with that decision, but the two groups and their luggage were cleared in an isolated manner making use of the harbour’s homeporting facility, before being transported directly to and from their charter flights with as little local contact as possible.
However, when the same ship made a similar request this Wednesday, Jacobs said, “No.” The difference is that this time there were quarantined cases of coronavirus on board as meanwhile confirmed by tests conducted in Curaçao, where the ship docked shortly for a medical team to do its inspection. The risk of letting the others in was considered too big on this occasion.
Handling these sensitive matters in a balanced way is important, also because cruise tourism represents about one-third of the country’s economy and is key in terms of converting passengers to future stayover guests too. The prime minister, in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders, ultimately needs to make that call.
Regarding the hospitality industry in general, things look to be getting progressively worse now that the global crisis was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). US President Donald Trump just announced 30-day travel restrictions and advisories that will no doubt have a negative impact on visitor numbers.
As tourism provides for the livelihood of practically the island’s entire population, residents must prepare for a difficult period ahead. Some American airlines have already said they lost more in the past weeks than after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, when international civil aviation temporarily came to a halt.
It’s not hurricane season yet for another 2½ months, but people and businesses alike would do well to buckle down and save what they can for what is proving to be no less of a disaster.
