With the French-side Carnival festivities in full swing and stories appearing on concerts and other activities for the Dutch side’s upcoming season of revelry, some question whether people should not be thinking about more important things. After all, local society is still dealing with the devastation left behind by Hurricane Irma, with the severity of its socioeconomic effects being increasingly felt.
But the latter is precisely the point. The island has a tourism economy that depends almost completely on money spent here by visitors. While it’s true that the majority of resorts and hotel rooms remain out of order, using what is available to attract as many guests as responsibly possible is really the only sensible thing to do.
It’s for this reason that the announcement of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta continuing this year, made relatively shortly after the catastrophic natural disaster, was so heartily welcomed. The news was applauded not just because of the sailing and entertainment spectacle’s direct and indirect impact in terms of promotion, but due to this sending a much-needed message that “The Friendly Island” was already on its way back.
The Carnival organisations on both sides of the open border soon followed suit, and rightfully so. These events bring in many tourists and make a very significant contribution to the overall vacation product.
The so-called “high season” so far has been nowhere close to what it normally is for cruise and especially stayover tourism, but it’s not over yet. Some widely popular events are taking place in the coming days, weeks and months and the cooperation of all is needed to put the destination’s best foot forward.
