It will be a special St. Maarten/St. Martin Day this year, as the first cruise ship since the onslaught of Hurricane Irma is expected in port. There clearly shouldn’t be the usual mandatory shop closure on this public holiday, certainly not in Philipsburg.
The input and effort of all is needed to make the cruise call and subsequent ones a success, so that more follow. Banks and insurance companies will no doubt play an important role in financing the revitalisation of the business community to adequately serve visitors, while rebuilding funds from the Netherlands and elsewhere can contribute too.
Government is working on a National Recovery Plan (NRP) to serve as basis for requesting Dutch budgetary assistance. It indeed makes sense to have a well-thought-out and detailed programme in place, also in light of strict conditions that are likely to be set for the disbursement of funds in phases.
Unfortunately, there is no date yet for the resumption of commercial air traffic into Princess Juliana International Airport SXM, although KLM did announce an initial flight via Curaçao on October 29. Hopefully the reopening will take place even sooner, but it obviously must be done in a very responsible way, according to international civil aviation safety standards.
By the way, local banks and lending institutions deserve credit for offering their clients, particularly those with loans and/or mortgages, some relief. While this has become almost common practice following natural disasters, it is often quite helpful to those involved and consequently to society as a whole.
