It remained pending for what seemed like forever, but the long-awaited St. Maarten Tourism Authority (STA) is finally said to be up and running (see related story). The news is most welcome,
because the island’s media presence in key source markets of late has been described as low to practically non-existent.
Certainly the current board members nominated by the different organisations appear well-chosen, while the advisory committee is to include representatives of a few of the other hospitality industry stakeholders. The whole idea is to professionalise the all-important promotion and marketing strategy as much as possible.
In fairness to those who have been in charge of this up to now primarily at the Tourist Bureau, how much one can do depends to a large extent on the available resources. It’s no secret that the Dutch side has been seriously lacking in that respect, certainly when compared to similar destinations.
But the step now being taken has already proven beneficial elsewhere in the region and even within the Dutch Caribbean. The Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) is seen as a success story although it took some time before the organisation could directly dispose of income from, for example, room tax to do its job properly.
The latter is a necessity also for the STA, so that it has the flexibility to adjust to international developments and grasp opportunities that may present themselves in a decisive and prompt manner, without first needing to go through the stifling government bureaucracy. It simply makes little sense to have such a separate entity without its own, easily accessible funding.
Of course, the foundation is yet to be incorporated into an independently governed entity, so the work has not been completed. The sooner this is done the better, because absolute clarity in this regard probably will enable a better performance.
Nevertheless, the William Marlin Cabinet and Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ingrid Arrindell in particular deserve credit for getting the STA off the ground. Now it’s a matter of achieving actual results.
