PHILIPSBURG--A mandatory travel insurance scheme for international travellers to St. Maarten will be implemented by year’s end, said Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmila de Weever, during the live virtual Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday.
This will be another addition to the country’s travel requirements, said De Weever, adding that a portal will be placed on
www.stmaartenehas.com.
The cost will be US $30 for persons above 14 years old and $10 for those younger than 14. The scheme will be valid for up to 180 days, and covers the cost of quarantine, isolation, hospitalisation and even medical evacuation. De Weever said more details would be disclosed in the coming days.
She believes that the insurance scheme will be one of the best in the region because, unlike Aruba’s scheme, it covers medical evacuation.
Including the possibility for medical evacuation is why it took so long to introduce, said De Weever. “We have to manage our limited medical resources. This is why it is important for our largest group of visitors to be able to get the access to be medically evacuated to the US [United States – Ed.], should we reach our [healthcare] capacity,” she said.
Residents will be exempted from having to purchase the insurance, as well as cruise and transit passengers, because this category of visitors are on-island for less than 24 hours.
