A delegation of tourism officials and hoteliers from St Maarten visited Barbados recently for a two-day trade show at the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre, Holetown, St James.
Marketing officer with the St Maarten Tourist Bureau, Betty Jean-Baptiste, said they were trying to encourage Barbadians to visit not just for shopping, but to experience the varying cultures, cuisines and attractions of the 37-square mile island.
Speaking during a Press conference on the first day, she said tourism officials in St Maarten considered the region to be very important at this time.
“After experiencing SARS, 9/11, all the other catastrophes all over the world, I think we realized when no one is travelling from abroad, how important the region was to each of us,” she said.
She noted that many Caribbean people opted to travel to the United States and Europe instead of visiting their regional neighbours.
“We forget the specialties that we have in the region while everybody from those countries comes to us,” she said.
Jean Baptiste said the Dutch side of the island had not really felt the effects of the economic crisis as Barbadians and other Caribbean nationals continued to flock to the island for shopping, retreats and conventions.
She suggested that “more work to be done” to reduce airfares and encourage even more traffic.
Meanwhile, Gregoire Dumel, a representative of the tourism office on the island’s French side, said that part of the country had seen reduced activity.
“That’s why we try to market different aspects [such as] sporting events and educational and cultural exchanges,” he said. (NB)
