It was quite busy at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) early Wednesday afternoon, giving taxi drivers, car rentals and tour operators some much-needed business. There was talk of St. Maarten having a better summer than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
What Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmila de Weever said at Wednesday morning’s press briefing is that May arrivals were at 85 per cent of the same month two years ago, but that for the US this was even 108 per cent. She stated that the latter increase is not matched in transit passengers, meaning more people stayed on the island.
This is obviously good news, but one should keep in mind that numbers are usually already considerably down compared to the traditional high season. In addition, as Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs pointed out, it will take a while before climbing visitor figures translate to economic activity producing significantly higher earnings in both the private and public sectors.
Nevertheless, things are certainly starting to look up from what they were for some time and the dominant hospitality industry clearly seems on its way back. The best way to help make that happen is by getting vaccinated and continuing to observe the COVID-19 protocols, so that “the Friendly Island” also remains known as a relatively safe destination.
