The award
PHILIPSBURG--Porthole Readers’ Choice Awards 2022 has selected St. Maarten as the “Best Caribbean Shopping Port.”
Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine has been described as the world’s leading cruise publication.
Acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Omar Ottley said it is heart-warming when St. Maarten is recognised on an international level. “It gives the outside world an opportunity to see what we have to offer. This award indicates that the country is on its way to full recovery since the pandemic and we are welcoming one and all to visit our ‘Friendly Island’.”
“St. Maarten is one of the most unique islands in the Caribbean thanks to its Dutch and French history,” said Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine publisher and editor-in-chief Bill Panoff. “I’m thrilled they can now add ‘best Caribbean cruise shopping port’ to their résumé as selected by our readers. The shops at Harbor Point Village are close, convenient, and full of the things cruisers love most.”
Port St. Maarten Group (PSG) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alexander Gumbs said on Monday that he welcomed once again the recognition that the port and the destination have received, adding that it once again demonstrates the quality, innovativeness and diversity of products that the duty-free retail sector has to offer cruise guests, leading to the port and destination coming out on top.
Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine’s Annual Readers’ Choice Awards began in 1999. The magazine was founded in 1993 by publisher Bill Panoff, who is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PPI Group. The publication is bi-monthly with an international audience. It is dedicated to cruise ship travel, holiday cruise destinations around the world and cruise ship/destination experiences.