Some good news was reported on the airlift front, which particularly regarding the region is most welcome following the downsizing of InselAir and cutting of flights by LIAT. Haiti airline Sunrise at the end of next month will again connect St. Maarten with not only that country but others, including Cuba, as well.
That is useful in terms of tourism, but also from a social-economic point of view. Both the Dutch and French sides of the island have sizable Haitian populations of mostly workers who need to be able to travel back and forth.
Seaborne having gone daily with its service to Puerto Rico effective May 5 is equally important, all the more since JetBlue stopped covering that route. The additional capacity may provide a boost in visitors already during the upcoming low season and the carrier could help compensate the loss of flights to the US Virgin Islands as well.
Talks with Southwest seem headed in the right direction, but must still be completed. If indeed a Fort Lauderdale flight can be arranged beginning in 2018 it would undoubtedly add to options for potential guests from Florida but also elsewhere through the carrier’s extensive network especially in the Southwest part of the US.
So it appears recently-sworn-in Minister of Tourism Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher is keeping her promise to try to move the destination forward. To what extent she will be successful obviously remains to be seen, but it’s in any case a promising star
