Dear Editor,
Thursday, September 27, marks World Tourism Day (WTD) and World Maritime Day (WMD). Port St. Maarten Management would like to wish all those working in the tourism/hospitality field and maritime sector a happy WTD and WMD.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), digital advances are transforming how we connect and inform ourselves, transforming our behavior, and encouraging innovation and sustainable, responsible growth strategies.
The theme for World Tourism Day is “Tourism and the Digital Transformation.”
UNWTO adds that a digitally advanced tourism sector can improve entrepreneurship, inclusion, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other important development objectives.
This year’s WTD helps the tourism sector to further explore the opportunities provided to tourism by technological advances including big data, artificial intelligence and digital platforms.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates 70 years since the Convention establishing the Organization was adopted.
The theme for World Maritime Day is “IMO 70: Our Heritage – Better Shipping for a Better Future.”
IMO says the 2018 theme provides an opportunity to take stock and look back, but also to look forward, addressing current and future challenges for maritime transport to maintain a continued and strengthened contribution towards sustainable growth for all.
The IMO was established to improve safety at sea by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations and from the mid-19th century onwards a number of such treaties were adopted.
The IMO as a United Nations specialized agency is to promote safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping through cooperation. This will be accomplished by adopting the highest practicable standards of maritime safety and security, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of pollution from ships, as well as through consideration of the related legal matters and effective implementation of IMO’s instruments with a view to their universal and uniform application, the IMO mission statement states.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Stuart Johnson, extends congratulations to the tourism and maritime sectors of the country on the eve of WTD and WMD.
“Information technology is transcending the way business is done around the world. The tourism and maritime sectors have to keep pace with trends and developments taking place and implement some of the technologies in order to continue to move economies forward.
“Our country is no different, and steps are being taken on different avenues by incorporating the benefits at our ports of entry and via our tourist bureau to utilize more technological innovations in the marketing of the destination.
“Port St. Maarten has embraced technology and will be rolling out soon its Port Community System. I would like to say happy World Tourism Day and Happy World Maritime Day to all those working in both areas. We appreciate the hard work that is carried out on a daily basis which keeps the engine of our country moving forward.
“Despite the challenges by past hurricanes, we are a resilient nation and have a positive economic future ahead. We can look forward with confidence as we continue to overcome and build back better,” Minister Johnson said on the eve of WTD and WMD.
Port St. Maarten is also part of the digital transformation process that is taking place across the globe in order to create better shipping for a better future. Port St. Maarten Management and Board have strategically embarked upon technology and innovation that will be sustainable, continuous and inclusive in growth and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
The Port St. Maarten “Port Community System (PCS)” will be implemented soon and involves data-sharing among stakeholders and third parties covering cargo and cruise operations at the country’s sea-port of entry.
PCS is an extension of Port St. Maarten’s Terminal Operating System that would further enhance the port’s operational excellence platform linking, for example, cargo/container manifest to an incoming/outgoing vessel to warehouse/storage handling and receiver pick-up.
PCS will create a single window platform for big data centralization that would further increase overall efficiency in port operations.
The PCS will allow all key parties such as agents to be connected to a secure cloud-based approach system which will enhance information sharing with the primary focus being on sustainable business development for the St. Maarten port community along with information data centric sharing with Customs, Coast Guard, Maritime Affairs, Immigration & Border Protection, Public Health and possibly other Government entities.
The overall objective is to have a complete information technology system in place at the port that allows stakeholders to access real-time information about container movements as well as contents. This initiative is also in line with border security and compliance with international rules and regulations.
The PCS is tied to the strategic approach initiative of the port to ensure long-term sustainability of operations that would lead to further growth in overall operations.
Port St. Maarten’s priority is security first, ensuring safe and secure use of the Port Community System.
Port St. Maarten
