PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has described the recent robberies at jewellery stores located inside hotels as “a concern,” but stressed that such incidents remain exceptions in what it called one of the Caribbean’s safest destinations.
The association said St. Maarten’s strong record of safety, recognised by the US State Department as the highest in the region, continues to set the island apart and that both public and private sector initiatives are underway to prevent further incidents.
SHTA provided the comments to The Daily Herald on Tuesday in response to questions from this newspaper about the spate of robberies of jewellery stores located in hotels.
“St. Maarten has a very long-standing reputation of being one of the safest destinations of the Caribbean, and a reason for many guests to keep coming back year after year,” the association said. “Recent incidents clearly are a concern: almost all St. Maarten hotels are a member of our association, and the concerns are also felt within the 80% other members of the group too. SHTA is aware of both private and public-sector initiatives are in the works to counter any more incidents.”
The association noted that while the crimes were worrying, they were also unusual for the island’s tourism industry. “It needs to be noted that the reason these occurrences stick out is because of the relatively high safety level of the destination (#1 according to the US State Department) compared to many other parts of the region,” SHTA stated.
“It is clear [that this] aforementioned standing in the region should at all times be nurtured and safeguarded. Be it some in a very short time, the incidents you mention can thankfully be considered an exception in the long-standing island tourism industry and have been addressed. The SHTA trusts law enforcement to maintain the comparatively safe reputation regardless of the challenges you mention, and SHTA has been made aware projects are already ongoing to safeguard the reputation of the ‘Friendly Island,’ not just in the short but also long run.”
When asked about the responsibility of hotels in maintaining safety for businesses operating on their premises, SHTA said, “Hotels have taken their responsibility to contribute to safety for a very long time already. That does not mean recent incidents have not been used for further improvement of safeguards throughout the industry.”
The association indicated that discussions have taken place with law enforcement and hotel partners. “SHTA is always in dialogue with key partners of hospitality and trade, and that includes law enforcement partners. This topic has been addressed and discussed. Properties need to assess their own opportunities for improvement as these will vary on a case by case basis, if they are needed at all.”
Regarding steps being taken to strengthen safety measures, the association highlighted the effectiveness of surveillance technology and staff preparedness. “As we have understood, CCTV cameras have proven instrumental in monitoring and apprehending people involved in recent incidents. Cooperating with and contributing to the already extensive CCTV systems on and off property helps both ambitions of law enforcement agencies and deter challenges. As do trainings for personnel to deal with these incidents. Regardless of the overall high safety scores for
destination St. Maarten / St. Martin, SHTA in the past has done trainings for its members how to deal with situations like these in a safe manner, as rarely as they might occur.”
