Management at the Port of St. Maarten were informed that a tour operator had received a letter from a cruise line stating their concerns with respect to a protest march that is scheduled to take place on March 27 on the French side of the island.
The cruise line is scheduled to visit on Wednesday with more than 4000 passengers on board, and was contemplating whether to dock at the destination. If the vessel went ahead and cancelled its visit to the island, it would have meant a loss of several million US dollars for both sides of the island. An average cruise passenger spends US$185 during a visit.
This loss would have been felt on both sides of the island, because as one destination, the cruise passengers patronize various restaurants, tours, water sports and much more on the Dutch and French sides.
Safety and security of cruise passengers at a destination is one of the key components for cruise lines, and a letter to their tour operator demonstrated their level of priority when it comes to their passengers and the cruise/land experience at the destination.
Port of St. Maarten management are very pleased that the cruise line will be calling at the destination. This once again shows that as an island destination we have to be very cognizant of things that may impact our livelihood, the cruise and land-based tourism.
A Citizen’s Committee has organized an on-line petition to protest the dire economic situation on the French side in an attempt to force the State to give St. Martin financial assistance. The petition will be delivered to French Overseas Minister Victorin Lurel.
The committee according to media reports has called for unprecedented support for its cause with a march on Wednesday, March 27.
On March 7 the committee had a general meeting where representatives from other major economic sectors such as hotels, restaurants, merchants and others were invited to give their input with respect to the economic situation on the French side.