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Trs Petites Entreprises President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool. Tpe President Requests Exemption From All Social Charges And Taxes

MARGOT--Trs Petites Entreprises (TPE) President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool has written to President Daniel Gibbs to point out the various aid and support measures proposed by the Read more

New Direction Releases Its List Of Candidates For Territorial Election

Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool

MARIGOT--Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool divulged her list of candidates for the March 19 Territorial Election at an event held in the Bridge Restaurant in Sandy Ground over the weekend.

All of the eight parties were required to submit their lists to the Prefecture by the 6:00pm deadline on March 3 Read more

French-Side Carnival Launched With Symbolic Key Presentation

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell officially signalled the start of the 2017 French-side Carnival on Saturday evening on the waterfront with the symbolic key hand-over to President of Festivités Carnavalesque de St. Martin (FCDSM) Jean-Philippe Richardson.

The key was brought in on a cushion by Miss Pitchounette 2016, Maëlys Farlot Read more

Caribbean Travel Marketplace

St. Maarten Public Health and Labour Minister Emil Lee and St. Martin Tourist Office President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool are in the Bahamas representing the country at the 2017 Caribbean Travel Marketplace Read more

Rogers-Vanterpool Candidate For 2017 Territorial Council Election

MARIGOT--Territorial Councillor and President of the St. Martin Tourism Office, Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool, has thrown her hat into the ring to be a political candidate in the March 2017 Territorial Council elections.

Read more

Haiti In Search Of Cooperation In Matters Of Tourism With Saint-Martin.

MARIGOT:--- Last Tuesday, Guy Didier Hyppolite, Minister of Tourism and the Creative Industries of Haiti, visited our island as part of a tour in the West Indies, at the head of a delegation of six employees.

In addition to the Collectivité and the CCISM, the Haitian dignitary went to the Office of Tourism to meet with its President Jeanne Rogers Vanterpool and reiterated his ambition to develop the tourism industry of his country Read more

A Second Chance To Do Things Right

St. James, Marigot – I would like to thank all the voters in St. Martin who came out to vote on the occasion of the 1st round, last Saturday, November 19, of the Primary of the Right and Center.

I also want to thank the voters who voted for Alain Juppé and made it possible for him to earn 128 votes. This placed him in third place and 44 votes behind Nicolas Sarkozy who placed first on Saint Martin, but who was ultimately eliminated from the contest and soundly rejected at both the Overseas and the National level.

François Fillon’s surprising and brilliant performance is to be congratulated and Alain Juppé took precedence in the Overseas Territories while earning 28% of the overall vote Read more

Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool Endorses Alain Juppé For Upcoming Primaries

Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool.

MARIGOT--St. Martin Tourism Office President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool says she is putting her full support behind Alain Juppé in the upcoming Primaries for Right and Center, saying he brings real values to France and pays particular attention to the Overseas Territories.

  In just a few weeks the Republican Primary to nominate the candidate who will defend the values of the Right and Center in the French Presidential Election of 2017 will be held Read more

Ceremonies Held To Remember Victims In St. Martin, France

MARIGOT--Two ceremonies were held in St. Martin on Monday to remember the victims of the wave of violence that swept through St. Martin last week and the latest terrorist attack in Nice, France, where 84 persons lost their lives.

  There was a gathering in the garden of Hotel de la Collectivité at midday, where Territorial Council President Aline Hanson, Préfète Anne Laubies and Police aux Frontières (PAF) Commandant Jean-Luc Deras lit candles Read more

Invest Caribbean Now 2015 Makes Splashy Opening In Terres Basses, St. Martin

NEW YORK, NY - Invest Caribbean Now 2015 entered its fifth year last night with a splashy opening ceremony at the prestigious Villa Mes Aimes in Terres Basses area of Saint Martin, West Indies.

Top government and local VIPS joined 41 Chinese delegates and several other overseas delegates for the opening reception and dinner which also included the presentation of the ICN 2015 Leadership Award.

A St. Martin tourism pioneer who was attracted to the sector at age 12 and went on to serve the island as a deputy mayor and creator of the Syndicat d’Initiatives, the precursor to the current Saint Martin Office of Tourism, was the ICN 2015 Leadership Award winner.
Romeo Fleming, head of the Romeo Fleming Group of Companies, which includes the current Hertz Rent a Car on St Read more

Chinese delegation impressed with island’s ‘beauty, ethnicity’

MARIGOT--“The competitive nature of the global market place demands that we act global and think global. We must sell our assets of stability, ease of access and ease of doing business.”

Those were some of the remarks made by Founder and CEO of Invest Caribbean Now (ICN), Felicia Persaud, in her keynote address at Friday’s exclusive invitation-only conference in the Chamber of Commerce on the theme “Investing in St. Martin’s Tourism Product”.

“Partnerships, collaborations, linkages, networking…that’s the key to the success of businesses, economies, governments, because from where I sit there is no way that any government on any island is smart enough to do it alone,” she added Read more

Invest Caribbean Now 2015 to shine spotlight on investment opportunities

MARIGOT--President of St. Martin Tourism Office, Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool, said she will be showcasing infrastructural and other opportunities to interested investors at the Invest Caribbean Now conference in St. Martin on September 25.

"As we gear up for the launch of our new Five Year Tourism Master Plan, we are excited to speak to investors about ideas and opportunities that are available,” she added, noting among the major projects available are the expansion of port services, the Marigot Bay Development Project and other tourism-related opportunities that fall within the Marigot Revitalisation project.

"Investment opportunities both inside and outside of these major projects include, among other projects, resorts, hotels, marinas, conference facilities, theme parks, nature parks, shopping centres and shipping related activities," President Rogers-Vanterpool pointed out.

A delegation of more than 40-Beijing companies including Showland Investment Group Corp Read more

Préfête Déléguée, Laubies Pays Courtesy Visit to the Office of Tourism Friday, August 21, 2015

>Sandy Ground:--- Tourism development and promotion, security and environmental issues were just three of the topics that were discussed during a 3 hour long courtesy visit by Préfête Déléguée, Anne Laubies to the Office of Tourism on Friday, August 21, 2015.

Topping the discussions with the President of the Office of Tourism, Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool, was the issue of security, especially, at Tourism sites Read more

Invest Caribbean Now 2015 For The French Caribbean Island Of Saint-Martin

NEW YORK, NY - The exotic French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin will this year put the spotlight on its global investment opportunities through an exclusive collaboration with Invest Caribbean Now, the global private sector Caribbean investment agency.

The Office of Tourism of Saint-Martin, in conjunction with executives at ICN, will present the 2015 conference this September 28-30, 2015 in the capital of Marigot to spotlight on the Collectivité of French Saint-Martin.

This elite invitation only event will feature several officials from China along with key harbor developers and top regional and local stake holders from the north-eastern Caribbean.

"We are happy to host the 2015 Invest Caribbean Now conference this year in Saint Martin and to lead the way with this exciting partnership in the north-eastern Caribbean," said Hon Read more

Ambitious Marigot Bay project advances to the bidding phase

MARIGOT--The Territorial Council adopted the main elements of the current Marigot Bay waterfront project on Thursday, the first time the project has been voted on. Much has been written on the project already and now with the major study phases completed the project moves to the bidding phase for an investor in a few months’ time, it was understood.

It was disclosed that the project is now estimated at close to 300 million euros. The majority voted 16 for, the opposition abstained and independent Councillor Jules Charville voted against.

“The development of modern berthing facilities for yachts and cruise ships, and the expansion and modernisation of our existing interisland ferry terminal, will collectively help St Read more

St. Martin ‘5th Most Attractive Island’ at TripAdvisor awards

MARIGOT--St. Martin/St. Maarten was voted fifth Most Attractive Island of the Caribbean for "its duality of culture and landscape" at the Traveller's Choice Best Islands for 2015 awards ceremony on June 4, St. Martin Tourism Office announced.

The awards ceremony was hosted by TripAdvisor during New York's Caribbean Week organised by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and held June 1 to 7.

The island won two more awards, one for Orient Bay for its "paradise setting and range of activities" and Grand Case as "third best place to hang out for gastronomy lovers, diving, and West Indian rhythm of life."

The Caribbean Week trade show was attended by President of the St Read more

Minister Teatt Connor Officially Opens Smart 2015

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor officially opened the 14th Edition of St. Maarten/St. Martin Annual Regional Trade Show (SMART) 2015 on Wednesday at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino.

SMART is a three day event bringing together tourism stakeholders such as Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Travel Writers, and Event Planners to support, interact and promote tourism to the Eastern Caribbean.

International stakeholders come from as far as the United States of America, Canada, Europe, and Latin America.

During the Ministers address to SMART attendees, he pointed out the successes of 2014: a record two million plus cruise passengers; stay-over tourism visitors' increase of 10 per cent compared to 2013; overall hotel occupancy averaged upwards of 80 per cent; Port St Read more

SMART hosts 14th annual tradeshow

MAHO--The on-going fourteenth St. Martin/St. Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART), dubbed the most important tradeshow of the Northeastern Caribbean, hosted its main day of activities at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino yesterday, May 14.

Although attendance was not as high as the 2014 event, which boasted one of the best turnouts in years, even participants who did not make any new connections pointed to the importance and usefulness of the annual event that targets local, regional and international tourism stakeholders.

However, noticeable was the lack of participants from South America that had been a major characteristic in 2014, and the non-presence of some regional islands Read more

SMART joint venture agreement is signed

PHILIPSBURG--A joint venture agreement was signed on Wednesday, May 6, in Dr. A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall of the Government Administration Building in Philipsburg by the main partners of the fourteenth St. Martin/St. Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) scheduled to be held Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino May 13-15.

The agreement was signed in the presence of St. Martin Tourism Office President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool; St Read more

St. Martin partners with French channel to promote destination

MARIGOT--St. Martin Tourism Office Director Kate Richardson disclosed at Friday's press conference the tourism office and Collectivité have partnered with the popular French TV channel Trace to promote the destination at the upcoming Foire de Paris (Paris Fair) early May.

Through the initiative of the Collectivité's office in Paris, Maison de St. Martin, the Fair has invited traditional St. Martin ensemble The Jolly Boys and singer Oswald to perform during the event while Trace TV will film promotional spots for the destination.

Trace TV has already been airing an Oswald video clip for the past two months which has increased his fan base significantly.

The channel will be promoting a Zumba event at the fair and at the same time promote a prize package to visit St Read more

Kate Richardson named Tourism Office Director

MARIGOT--Kate Richardson was officially named Director of St. Martin Tourism Office as of April 1 at a press conference Friday afternoon. She had assumed the position of Interim Director since the departure of former director Silviane John.

President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool said she was very proud that an employee of the office has been promoted within.

"Kate has been part of the staff for seven years and has a lot of experience," Rogers-Vanterpool said Read more

St. Martin Tourism Office staff on strike

MARIGOT--St. Martin Tourism Office was closed on Thursday as staff staged a walk-out to protest what employees said was disrespect of a long standing Labour Collective Agreement on worker's rights established by the French Government (State).

Labour Collective Agreements were implemented by Government for various institutions, for example for all hotels, tourism offices, car rental companies, and others.

Thursday's strike was the second such protest action in about a month on the same subject.

"The first action was about our rights not being respected," explained Emile Louisy Read more

Claire Gioun-Firmin appointed Riu Palace Assistant Director

MARIGOT--Claire Javois Guion-Firmin was recently appointed to the position of Assistant Director of the Riu Palace Hotel in Anse Marcel, St. Martin Tourism Office President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool disclosed Read more

First 11 guesthouses receive star ratings by Collectivité

MARIGOT--Plaques were presented by elected officials at a ceremony on Friday to proprietors of the first eleven guesthouses that were classified and rated by the Collectivité in 2014.

The awards bring guesthouses into focus with a guarantee of quality while diversifying the hospitality sector's range of accommodation options available to tourists.

The guesthouses have a maximum 10 rooms or less and received ratings from one star to five stars. Each star a guesthouse earns comes with the guarantee that a set of standards has been met and in some cases surpassed.

In the French system guesthouses are not classified, but the Collectivité decided in February 2014 to adopt a classification system for St Read more