Conference attendees from Grenada and St. Lucia alongside Laura Jean Louis-Leblanc (far left) and CEO Louis Jeffers (second right.)
PHILIPSBURG--Representatives from Accessible Ventures Transportation of St. Maarten (AVTS) highlighted the products and services available in St. Maarten for the cruise industry, particularly for tourists with disabilities visiting the island via cruise during the 28th Annual Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) conference held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic recently.
The conference included 60 top global cruise executives. AVTS said it has been providing special-needs, non-emergency, medical transportation services on the island since February 2005. In addition to providing special needs support for local residents, a niche market for accessible tourism evolved.
This niche was discovered by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Louis Jeffers, who said he continues to seek ways to enhance accessible tourism on the island and to provide opportunities for the island to diversify its tourism product, it was stated in a press release.
“I would like to see the growth of accessible tourism on the island, whereby we look at providing more activities, improving the accessibility of buildings, as well as the accessibility of public facilities for our locals and our guests. I believe a travel market for disabled persons is under-explored and should not be ignored,” Jeffers said in a press release.
According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), accessibility for all tourism facilities, products, and services should be a central part of any responsible and sustainable tourism policy. Based on this premise, AVTS continues to be a vital part of this vision by providing support for special-needs clients on and/or coming to St. Maarten via airway or cruise.
Included among AVTS’ range of services are also, island tours of both the Dutch and French sides of the island; downtown drop-offs/pick-ups for wheelchair passengers; wheelchair rentals; beach wheelchair rentals, transportation to beaches, or, other customised attractions for wheelchair passengers, among other non-emergency medical services.
AVTS consists of a team of 20+ employees with full-service drivers, tour coordinators, and administrative staff; certified in passenger transportation, care, and service with customer safety and satisfaction at the forefront.
