The contracting of VoX International as St. Maarten’s new pubic relations and marketing communication firm in Canada confirms that country’s significance for the local tourism economy. The Dutch side gets 60% of its stay-over visitors from the US, but the latter’s northern neighbour has become an important secondary source market.
Last year it reportedly produced 28,000 guests who spent nights on the island, an average 2,333 per month. Ample direct flight service is readily available, both from Toronto and Montreal.
The destination rose in popularity among Canadians to the extent that in 2017 Sunwing Group bought the former Great Bay Beach Resort where many used to stay. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by Hurricane Irma soon after.
That certainly hampered further growth, as did the COVID-19 pandemic and severe related travel restrictions in Canada. The market’s recovery from those setbacks is apparently well underway.
It would therefore be nice to hear more about Sunwing’s plans to build a Planet Hollywood Resort at the Great Bay site. There were objections and legal issues regarding the design and building permit, but these have since been resolved.
Construction is now supposed to start this year, but so far there has been no physical evidence of such.
While nobody can force the company’s hand, people deserve to know whether this project is still on the table and the time-frame involved. Not only government and its public services, but for example also utilities provider GEBE must obviously know exactly when to expect what.
No matter how you look at it, providing clarity in the short term is highly desirable at this point. And – frankly – that would be the right thing to do.
