Minister of Justice and acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Cornelius de Weever is stating the obvious in today’s paper when he says safety and security are essential for the cruise passenger experience (see related story). However, the findings from his walkthrough in Philipsburg with other cabinet members and representatives of the Tourist Bureau, Port St. Maarten as well as the Chamber of Commerce are important.
The reality is that the downtown shopping area is not yet what it was before. To a certain extent that’s completely understandable, but improvements could at least be attempted where possible.
Take, for example, the uneven bricks on Front Street. Only last week a visitor stumbled supposedly for that same exact reason and hit the edge of the concrete, causing a bleeding wound to the forehead.
This problem must be addressed post-haste, as does some of the still-visible hurricane debris. A clean-up and placing more trash bins are certainly helpful ideas.
One less-straightforward matter is that several stores remain closed and in a few cases the damage has not even been repaired, which causes the entire surroundings to look bad. There are many potential factors, such as disputes between tenant and landlord, insurance issues, etc.
Of course, it regards the private sector over which Government has little control. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to adopt a proactive attitude and individually approach these businesses to see whether any advice, guidance or assistance is needed to get them back up and running.
All things considered, the recovery of the destination’s cruise industry has been impressive, but that doesn’t mean it can be taken for granted. Especially now that stayover tourism is down considerably, every reasonable effort should be made to ensure a pleasant day on the island for passengers coming off the ships in the harbour at Pointe Blanche.
