Director of Tourism Charles Lindo (centre), staff member of St. Eustatius Development Foundation (STDF) Charmaine Turner (left) and STDF Product Development Manager Maya Pandt at the entrance to the new Tourism Office at the “Berkel House” in Oranjestad’s historical core.
ST. EUSTATIUS--St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation (STDF) moved into a new building on Monday. The move came after a fire completely destroyed their former headquarters at Godet House in May 2020. The new building is located in the heart of the historical core of Oranjestad, at the historical building that is affectionately called “Berkel House”.
Tourism director Charles Lindo credited his team for pulling together during a difficult period, as the fire was not an easy situation to deal with. He said his team was just getting comfortable at Godet House when the devastating fire took place.
STDF was originally headquartered in Fort Oranje, but forced to move to Godet House after Hurricane Irma caused damage to the building’s roof in 2017.
“At the end of the day, everyone was devastated, not just the Tourist Office but also the community at large. It was a huge loss for the island, not just for the tourism sector itself. The building was a historical monument that stood for many years,” Lindo said of the Godet House fire.
“Even though most of us were shaken up by the fire, we still decided to move forward and made progress to take this new step and move into this new location,” said Lindo.
As soon as the borders open back up and they get the go-ahead, STDF will be holding an open house for the general public to experience the new location.
Lindo said tourism is one of the hardest hit sectors due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, plans are already in progress for marketing St. Eustatius as a tourism destination in which the new infrastructural developments on the island, the new hotel and potential developments at the harbour and in Lower Town will be included, Lindo said.
According to the tourism director, training is the main thing in going forward. He said that training will entail teaching the entire community how to handle the new norm of COVID-19, which will cover wearing of masks, proper hand sanitising, the specific way in which to clean a room, as well as the correct procedure to sanitise a distinct location or area. The foundation plans to work with stakeholders in developing this new norm.
A tourism task force and STDF are working with green destinations to ensure that in Statia certain rules are adhered to and followed for Statia to qualify as a green destination. The tourism team is also assisting other stakeholders in qualifying as sustainable entities.
The Taste of the Cultures event was a mainstay before the COVID-19 pandemic. The “baby” of STDF product development manager Maya Pandt brought together different cultures with visitors being able to sample foods and drinks from different countries and islands around the world.
Lindo said that as soon as he gets the go-ahead from the island government, Taste of the Cultures will restart, but that will only happen when the COVID-19 limitations on public gatherings and other measures have been lifted.
Lindo said the tourism team was considering different scenarios where the event is concerned, such as limiting the number of visitors, but this proved too difficult.
“We know how much the people love the Taste of the Cultures event. As soon as we get the go-ahead, we will reintroduce it, but the COVID-19 situation makes it difficult.”
