The first British Airways (BA) flight to Aruba (see related story) can be considered a major achievement. The inaugurated twice-weekly route throughout this year not only further opens up the United Kingdom (UK) market but also offers an alternative European connection.
Like sister island Curaçao, Aruba to a large extent depends on service by carriers KLM and TUI out of Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands for European passenger traffic. This limits their possibility to effectively target potential visitors in the rest of the continent.
St. Maarten/St. Martin has the advantage of almost daily flights from Paris with Air France in addition to KLM’s service, but the latter at a much lower frequency than to the other Dutch Caribbean countries. The merger of these two companies probably did not help either where it regards price competition, which is becoming increasingly important as global airfares soar.
It was reported last week that St. Maarten Tourism Bureau had attended hospitality gatherings in Germany. While continuing such activities is certainly a good idea, attracting airlift from that area would make it even better.
The same goes for a recent promotional trip of the French-side tourist office in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. A direct connection from Scandinavia if in any way possible could be a huge plus.
Granted, this is no easy task. Getting BA took Aruba 10 years and the flights are via Antigua.
Nevertheless, it is a significant step in efforts to diversify the destination’s stay-over tourism. “The Friendly Island” too can well use some kind of similar breakthrough.
