Le Beach Hotel, Marigot, days after Hurricane Irma devastated the island. (Robert Luckock photo)
MARIGOT--The State, managing authority of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in partnership with the local St. Martin authorities, is launching a call for projects for rehabilitation, renovation and reconstruction of listed hotels and tourist residences.
Following the passage of the Hurricane Irma, tourist accommodations in St. Martin suffered major material damage that no longer allowed for the normal reception of customers or maintaining employment.
Of the 1,506 rooms of classified and unclassified accommodation listed in 2017 before Irma, the loss was recorded at 80 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent is not marketable due to the general condition of the accommodation.
As St. Martin’s economy is mainly based on tourism, it is therefore necessary to support establishments in rebuilding to enable tourists to be accommodated and employment to return in accordance with the 2017-2027 territorial development and tourism plan for reconstruction.
This reconstruction plan, which aims to set up sustainable tourism areas in accordance with the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) definition is in line with the previous one, in terms of positioning and continuing actions relating to modernisation and upgrading of the accommodation facilities.
The objective of this call for projects is to allow rehabilitation/renovation/reconstruction of hotels and tourist residences classified in the territory following Irma’s passage. The aim is to provide direct support to these institutions through support for tangible and intangible investment.
The State, managing authority of the ERDF and European Social Funds (ESF) programme in St. Martin for the period 2014-2020, and the local authorities responsible for territorial tourism policy, have requested that ERDF support the aid scheme for the rehabilitation/renovation/reconstruction of tourist accommodation included in the local authority's 2017-2027 territorial development and tourism reconstruction plan.
The deadline for submitting an application is Friday, November 30, 2018 at 1:00pm. Complete applications must be submitted to the Préfecture at 23, Rue de Spring, Concordia, 97150 Saint-Martin.
