From left: TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten, radio host Lady Grace and Soul Beach CEO Mark Adkins.
PHILIPSBURG--The Soul Beach Music Festival in St Maarten, set for May 21-26, has the potential to attract more than 4,000 visitors and inject millions into the economy.
According to the festival’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Adkins, this event can have far-reaching economic effects, benefiting a variety of sectors including retail, restaurants, taxis and more. The festival usually attracts about 7,000 visitors. The estimate for the return to St Maarten is around 4,000.
Speaking on Breakfast Lounge with Lady Grace on Thursday, Adkins highlighted an economic impact study that had been conducted in Aruba, where the festival was held for many years, which indicated that the festival had major financial impact on the island. Adkins explained that the study had revealed a significant increase in spending patterns, with tourists spending nearly double the average amount per day compared to the high season.
“There was an economic impact that was done by a third party – not us, not tourism. They used Central Florida as a resource and they came out and did surveys on what is the impact. And first the trend was that it was the highest per average spending even over their attendance for the high season - as opposed to $250 per person, our people were spending $476 per person per day,” Adkins said.
The study did not include hotel spending, but focused on expenditures in local businesses. “This is ‘I’m going out to get jewellery.’ We had lines around the Gucci store. … The taxi drivers would come to us and say, ‘I made what I needed to make for all of June’ because it’s spread out. What they saw is the impact reached across the island. It’s not just people sitting at the hotels and drinking by the pools, although the hotels did well too.”
The economic effects were not confined to the retail and transport sectors, but also had a widespread impact on other stakeholders. “We dropped $30 million in one week – in 5 days. It was the biggest grossing event for years,” Adkins said. “Then on top of it, when we started it was only a four-day stay. We saw it go to five days, six days, and now it’s an average 7-day stay. Already, our people are saying it’s an average seven days stay. … So, you have seven and then you have the 10-day stayers.”
He said that in Aruba, things such as ATV rentals and catamarans are sold out during the festival time. He said also that Soul Beach will be using local resources as much as possible including local security for its events.
The festival’s ability to extend the duration of visitors' stays is another key factor in its financial success. “Now you have an average, … and you couple that with spending per day, and again the results are, you see it right back, your investment comes back that weekend,” Atkin said.
The local hotel industry also saw benefits. “It’s the compression that really made the hotels participate because we asked for a certain number of comp [complimentary – Ed.] rooms. … Divi [Little Bay Beach Resort] is also already selling. They saw the compression from that week from our people buying early, which made anybody who wanted to come Memorial Day weekend have to come the week before or the week after,” Adkins said.
In response to the growing demand, TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten said she has been in communication with the major hotels, which typically operate at 60% capacity in May. “I spoke to the major hotels, it’s usually 60% capacity. In May, they would do 60% capacity. As soon as this event is over, I’m going to ask them again, what is your capacity? … That’s mainly what I am going to look at – the numbers. I want a full report and will do an assessment,” she said.
The festival will feature a range of events across several days, including day parties, comedy show, fine dining experiences, nightclub events, and live performances by international and local artistes. The line-up has not yet been announced.
