Commissioner of aviation and tourism, Mr. Frans Richardson, held a press briefing regarding the latest developments in tourism / aviation on February 11th 2010.
The following are his remarks during the press conference:
Brazil:
· YEAR ROUND SERVICE BY GOL
Allow me to begin by saying that our launch in Brazil has been described as ‘one of the most successful events’.
As Commissioner of Tourism and Aviation, I am pleased to confirm that GOL Airlines of Brazil will begin a year-round weekly flight to St. Maarten.
The agreement means that St. Maarten will have two flights out of Brazil in the high season and one in the off season, starting on March 27.
I am most pleased that four major Brazilian wholesalers (travel agent firms and tourism-related companies) are now also on board to strengthen promotions and take seats on the rotations to St. Maarten.
The Sonesta Maho Group is additionally committed to this latest endeavor to secure flights from the South American market to St. Maarten. Sonesta Maho has committed to the market by offering competitive introductory rates to ensure its success.
Allow me to call on the rest of the private sector in realizing our marketing efforts. The private sector needs to get on board.
We have to recognize the importance of the South American: South Americans like to dine and shop; they love local cultural activities and night life in general; they are fascinated with the French flair, which benefits St. Martin and St. Barths.
Given the above, I will be meeting with my counterparts on the French side as well as St. Barths and Anguilla.
Other achievements:
· Meeting with American Airlines – São Paulo, Brazil, Jose Roberto Trinca. AA is offering the following promotional round trip fare:
Low Season: 584 U.S. dollars plus tax
High Season: 794 U.S. dollars plus tax
· Meeting with well-known Brazilian journalist Amaury Junior.
This is a journalist and presenter of TV Brazil, known for its night program of interviews with celebrities and coverage of festivals and events.
Amaury Jr. Show is broadcasted on REDE TV Network all over Brazil.
Amaury Jr. is compared to Oprah Winfrey and is the most important celebrity talk show in the country. The plan is to bring the TV show to the island during 6 days and film all the attractions, nightlife, etc.
Weekly audience: 16 million viewers
Saturday edition: 30 million viewers
The Amaury Jr. Show will:
o Present St. Maarten as the new destination in the Caribbean.
o Raise awareness of St. Maarten among the trade: wholesalers, tour operators, incentive & Group Planners.
· Branding strategy lunch
Present were the major tour operators including Mr. Guilherme Paulus CVC CEO and Mr. Plinio Nascimento from Nascimento Tourism.
In attendance were 80 guests — including 40 journalists from major media in tourism.
· Workshop CVC
The 16th CVC workshop was held at Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo. According CVC, 12 thousand travel agents (from all Brazil and Latin America, especially Argentina and Chile) attended the event in two days. In total, 658 exhibitors from national and international tourism entities were present at the event. The St. Maarten booth distributed materials (brochures etc.) to more than 5000 travel agents.
· Meeting with Gol Commercial Director – Mr. Eduardo Bernardes and his team of planning and groups sales at Gol’s head office.
· Meeting with the pool that should make the packages with AA. St. Maarten intends to invest in marketing and advertising for this pool.