Dear Editor,

Thursday, September 27, marks World Tourism Day (WTD) and World Maritime Day (WMD). Port St. Maarten Management would like to wish all those working in the tourism/hospitality field and maritime sector a happy WTD and WMD.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), digital advances are transforming how we connect and inform ourselves, transforming our behavior, and encouraging innovation and sustainable, responsible growth strategies.

The theme for World Tourism Day is “Tourism and the Digital Transformation.”

UNWTO adds that a digitally advanced tourism sector can improve entrepreneurship, inclusion, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other important development objectives.

This year’s WTD helps the tourism sector to further explore the opportunities provided to tourism by technological advances including big data, artificial intelligence and digital platforms.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates 70 years since the Convention establishing the Organization was adopted.

The theme for World Maritime Day is “IMO 70: Our Heritage – Better Shipping for a Better Future.”

IMO says the 2018 theme provides an opportunity to take stock and look back, but also to look forward, addressing current and future challenges for maritime transport to maintain a continued and strengthened contribution towards sustainable growth for all.

The IMO was established to improve safety at sea by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations and from the mid-19^th century onwards a number of such treaties were adopted.

The IMO as a United Nations specialized agency is to promote safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping through cooperation. This will be accomplished by adopting the highest practicable standards of maritime safety and security, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of pollution from ships, as well as through consideration of the related legal matters and effective implementation of IMO’s instruments with a view to their universal and uniform application, the IMO mission statement states.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Stuart Johnson, extends congratulations to the tourism and maritime sectors of the country on the eve of WTD and WMD.

“Information technology is transcending the way business is done around the world. The tourism and maritime sectors have to keep pace with trends and developments taking place and implement some of the technologies in order to continue to move economies forward.

“Our country is no different, and steps are being taken on different avenues by incorporating the benefits at our ports of entry and via our tourist bureau to utilize more technological innovations in the marketing of the destination.

“Port St. Maarten has embraced technology and will be rolling out soon its Port Community System. I would like to say happy World Tourism Day and Happy World Maritime Day to all those working in both areas. We appreciate the hard work that is carried out on a daily basis which keeps the engine of our country moving forward.

“Despite the challenges by past hurricanes, we are a resilient nation and have a positive economic future ahead. We can look forward with confidence as we continue to overcome and build back better,” Minister Johnson said on the eve of WTD and WMD.

Port St. Maarten is also part of the digital transformation process that is taking place across the globe in order to create better shipping for a better future. Port St. Maarten Management and Board have strategically embarked upon technology and innovation that will be sustainable, continuous and inclusive in growth and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

The Port St. Maarten “Port Community System (PCS)” will be implemented soon and involves data-sharing among stakeholders and third parties covering cargo and cruise operations at the country’s sea-port of entry.

PCS is an extension of Port St. Maarten’s Terminal Operating System that would further enhance the port’s operational excellence platform linking, for example, cargo/container manifest to an incoming/outgoing vessel to warehouse/storage handling and receiver pick-up.  

PCS will create a single window platform for big data centralization that would further increase overall efficiency in port operations.

The PCS will allow all key parties such as agents to be connected to a secure cloud-based approach system which will enhance information sharing with the primary focus being on sustainable business development for the St. Maarten port community along with information data centric sharing with Customs, Coast Guard, Maritime Affairs, Immigration & Border Protection, Public Health and possibly other Government entities.

The overall objective is to have a complete information technology system in place at the port that allows stakeholders to access real-time information about container movements as well as contents. This initiative is also in line with border security and compliance with international rules and regulations.

The PCS is tied to the strategic approach initiative of the port to ensure long-term sustainability of operations that would lead to further growth in overall operations.

Port St. Maarten’s priority is security first, ensuring safe and secure use of the Port Community System.

Port St. Maarten

Dear Editor,
By now people know that I have always stated that we constantly provide the Dutch with ammunition to use against ourselves. I think that I have also stated that my father was very inspirational in me being careful not to offend others and to respect my fellowmen, to which he would add, “Of the spoken word you are the slave but of the unspoken word you are the master.”
I can remember myself and my friend “Tallboy” trying to find a proverb in Dutch which would coincide with that saying. What we came up with was “Je moet je buskruit niet verschieten.” And that we would remind each other on occasions while laughing about it.
I can remember my father clearly telling me that I must not always say everything but whatever I say must be the truth, because then you would not forget or be mixed up with what you said. You might not always remember the occasion on which you said it, but once you remember the occasion you will remember what you said because it was the truth.
I’m mentioning all of this because of what MP Christophe Emmanuel wanted to know about the prosecutors prosecuting themselves. I am not sure if those would be my words but it is something that has always lived with me. My oldest brother’s father used to be a fighter in his days and his main weakness is that he could not be in the presence of physical abuse without getting involved. In so doing he got himself involved in battles with the police. According to what was told it always took about six of them to dominate him. Because of this there trumped up charges of rape against him and he spent nine years in jail. During those nine years of absence my mother got involved with my father and they got married.
When my brother’s father was released I was years old and as usual the reason and stories for him being locked up were being relived. From then already I had an idea about “spite work” and “We’ll get you one day.” It is not a question of being afraid, and also I do not always know what is the right thing, but I know whatever I do I try to do it right as possible. Yes, do the thing right. So let me repeat some of what my father used to say. Prevention is better than cure and if you were not there your name could not be called.
The way I see things going in St. Maarten these last years is that once your name is called, you have to give an account and that could be problematic, because to quote that old African saying: “In a court of fowls, cockroach never wins his case.” And as long as we do not realize that unity is strength we will be constantly failing and falling.
What our members of government do not realize is that while they are busy protecting each other in face of the people, and sarcastically smiling when one of their own is being prosecuted for wrongdoing, their accusers are gloating while rubbing their hands. As usual, the thought “I got you again” arises.
The simple answer to MP Emmanuel’s question would be, “Nobody is above the law.” To find out the practical answer, some one of our local lawyers should be able to explain the procedure, after which the Minister of Justice should bring the prosecutor along with him as an expert and have him explain the procedure. It would also help if some local lawyers were invited to sit in the public gallery during the session, which would make for a great teaching moment and everybody will be abreast of how things work in the Judicial system from the side of the public prosecutor.
Hopefully then Knops will not find it necessary to again have to publicly express himself in a reproval way towards our Prime Minister. I do not know what was said because I was not present, but what I read from Knops as far as I know everybody is supervised.
I did not agree either with the fact that this came from the Prime Minster but in comparison to what has been happening to us this is making a mountain out of molehill. Again it is time for the Kingdom partners to start showing some kind of civility towards each other. Why did professor Saleh make that talk?

Russell A. Simmons

Dear Editor,

In highlighting the theme of World Tourism Day, United Nations Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said, “Harnessing innovation and digital advances provide tourism with opportunities to improve inclusiveness, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other objectives within the wider sustainable development agenda.”

This year’s World Tourism Day seeks to highlight the investment needs in the tourism industry in what the United Nations calls “disruptive digital technologies” as a means of creating a more innovative and entrepreneurship-friendly environment within the tourism sector.

Already, both French and Dutch tourism offices have displayed a keen understanding of the benefits of incorporating more technological innovations in the marketing and promotion of the destination when they streamed live videos of St. Maarten for stakeholders in Holland to get real-time images of the progress being made on both sides post-Irma.

There are also efforts to generate statistical data electronically, which the secretary-general for TEATT is finalising.

This, along with the digital kiosks and e-Gate service at the Princess Juliana International Airport, forms part of how St. Maarten is already doing as it prepares to lead the Caribbean in digital innovation in the hospitality industry.

As we work to recover from the worst natural disaster in our history, this government is mindful of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Opportunities for setting it right and building better form the basis of the government’s and the Ministry of Tourism's approach on the road to economic revitalisation.

We remain cognizant of the cost of change and the challenge in financing improvements. This requires strategic partnerships as we continue to push for the urgent completion of Princess Juliana International Airport with a fully operational US-Pre-Clearance facility. This will increase our regional presence as a hub for airlifts to and from the US mainland and make us the preferred direct link in the region, to the rest of the world.

Rebuilding brings with it an opportunity to redefine how we market our annual activities, such as the Heineken Regatta, Carnival, and the newly launched Oualichi Festival in July, as well as the Lighting Parade.

Support for these events and the promotion of them parallel to our destination marketing will strengthen our efforts to build a year-round sustainable tourism product with many attractive offers.

Adequately recognising them as part of the overall product we have to offer as a destination, will significantly increase visitor arrival throughout the year and contributes to our effort to move away from what traditionally has been a seasonal tourism market.

The rebuilding of our destination also creates an opportunity for us to improve inclusiveness by better recognising a large number of people with disabilities who travel globally and ensuring that our road and building infrastructure, as well as our methods of disseminating information about the destination, align with international standards and norms to accommodate visitors with disabilities.

Making our tourism product stand out as it did in the past and restoring our destination to being the beacon of the Caribbean are part of our collective responsibilities as citizens of this great country. While we seek to foster local community empowerment, we must, as a community, take advantage of the unique opportunity to reinvigorate positive activities. Cleaning campaigns within the community ensure that a positive impression is given to visitors and residents who come into our areas. Providing friendly customer service in all areas ensures that we are doing our part of rebuilding our tourism.

After all, we have been known for being “The Friendly Island” for years. Let this friendliness be evident in our interactions with the many guests who visit our shores, and let it begin with how we interact with each other here at home.

We live in a time of considerable advances in technology, and at this critical juncture in the rebuilding of our hospitality industry and recreating our tourism, I encourage industry partners to incorporate frontier technology as much as possible in the way they deliver their services.

As a country, maximizing the use of technology to disseminate the message about our tourism product will double our reach in an era where the average person uses a cell phone more than any other device and relies on electronic devices and technology for communication, research, and decision-making about almost anything, including where to vacation.

This is why I have asked the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau to use the best technology available to recreate our website and media presence. Our communication via social media and the consistency in the delivery of our message will make the difference in how quickly the world learns about our resilience and readiness to welcome them back to our shores.

These opportunities and challenges that lie ahead will be tackled on all fronts with the combined resources and experience of the men and women in the Hospitality Industry on both sides of the island thanks to the memorandum of understanding recently signed between French and Dutch St. Maarten.

We must capitalise on this relationship to maximise the overall impact of our message of being ready to welcome visitors to our shores. On that note, to those of our visitors, the timeshare industry, those who have St. Maarten as a second home, and the Free and Independent Traveller (FIT Guests) who have returned some several times since the island was devastated by Hurricane Irma in September last year, I wish to give a huge “thank you” on behalf of the government and people of St. Maarten.

Finally, almost two decades ago, a group of local experts and professionals in the Hospitality Industry came together with the support and leadership of some of the most visionary political figures of our time to form the St. Maarten Tourist Authority. Since then, the St. Maarten Tourist Authority has gone through several transformations, ultimately losing focus on its intended goal of being the body that reduces the bureaucracy that restrains the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau from providing timely responses in a continually evolving and fast-paced global travel and tourism industry.

If we are to improve the way we promote our destination, the pulling on all sides of the St. Maarten Tourist Authority must end, and as such, a model that meets the demands of the market and satisfies our partners in the industry will soon be realised.

Let us remember that we are all part of what makes St. Maarten stand out. We have the ability to make St. Maarten better by being better at providing service in our restaurants, building our hotels and homes to be stronger than before, and creating community beautification programs that transform our destination into the beautiful gem of the Caribbean it once was. Let us continue to rebuild an amazing St. Maarten sustainably.

Stuart Johnson

Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT)

Dear Editor,

It’s September 22, 2018, Saturday, 11:00am in Great Bay. There’s no space in the parking lot, so I ended up parking at a short distance from the Philipsburg Jubilee Library. From the outside, it didn’t look like it had been damaged much by Hurricane Irma, until I drew closer and began to see the rust and displaced louvres. What used to be the office is battered down as if in anticipation of another storm. Actually, it has become unusable. The staff now use an improvised space in the back.

I walk into the Library, watching a group of children huddled together in a small area that once served as exhibition hall and meeting place. I kept shaking my head both in disbelief and disgust.

From Kemet to Timbuktu, libraries have been sacrosanct, venerated. Jean Paul Sartre even said he “saw the library as a temple,” and I’m sure he wasn’t philosophizing.

Where would the world be today in terms of knowledge and civilization had the libraries of Waset (Thebes) and Alexandria survived? Was the fire that gutted the library of Alexandria a natural disaster or pure arson? What would happen to the Philipsburg Jubilee Library if it is not relocated and fast?

I couldn’t shake off these thoughts as I watched the students – some of them accompanied by their parents – prepare for what seemed a pending exam or school assignment.

I was looking at some doctors, engineers, IT specialists, lawyers and architects among that group. And when I looked up, I saw sagging blue tarps held in place by strips of wood and thought to myself that they couldn’t even be mistaken for the blue sky on a sunny St. Martin midday by any stretch of the imagination. And libraries are supposed to stretch our imagination.

American author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury once remarked: “Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the children – the future of this island forced into a dismal present that is not only uncomfortable but that could also pose a serious threat to their physical integrity. I was, however, amazed at how diligently they were making do with this make-shift, cramped space as if they were in a hurricane shelter.

Parts of the library look like a warehouse that has been looted. The books – the most precious possessions of the library – are stashed away in brown boxes that could have contained milk or sardines. A little drizzle and adios books! This situation is simply untenable, especially 53 long weeks after Irma!

It would be logical to expect that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which has been touted as our “road map to building back better,” would see the reconstruction of the library as a top priority.

But does it take into account the need for a new public library, built, if I may suggest, far away from the often-billowing smoke from Papa Dump and Baby Dump, which are just a sling-shot away from the present one?

The NRRP, in fact, recognizes that “The education sector was significantly affected by Irma and faces many challenges that need to be addressed urgently.” It further lists among its top six priorities under Education, Culture, Youth and Sports the “repair or reconstruction of physical infrastructure to improved building standards.” It is, however, not clear if this includes the Philipsburg Jubilee Library.

Of course, it all boils down to money. We will need money to build a new library. But how much? I know not. Walter Cronkite might have been thinking of St. Martin when he said: “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”

And believe me, Henry Ward Beecher, the American clergyman, was right. He said: “A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.” That is what the Philipsburg Jubilee Library should be for all of us.

Fabian A. Badejo