Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Minister of Tourism meets with SMTA
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism Claret Connor met with members of the board of St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) on Tuesday. During the meeting they discussed, amongst other things, the possible litigation of timeshare issues moving forward.
The meeting was called based on a directive from the Prime Minister to ensure that government has all relevant information about the industry in order to make informed decisions.
Minister Connor said what was realised, was that there are instances on the island where people purchase a product, where a buyer has a opinion about the nature of what he/she is purchasing, which differs from that of the seller Read more
Minister Connor Meets With Smta
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Tourism Claret Connor on Tuesday met with members of the board of the St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) to look at, among things, the possible litigation of timeshare issues moving forward.
Minister Connor said what was realized was that there are instances on island where persons purchase a product and the buyer has an opinion about what he/she purchasing.
These opinions are often brings unfortunate conflicts Read more
Editorial - The last one
As predicted, for the second year in a row St. Maarten isn't represented at the Vacation Fair taking place in Utrecht (see related story). It's arguably the largest annual hospitality trade show in the Netherlands, where the Dutch side no longer has any official tourism representation.
That Curaçao is a co-host on this occasion along with Spain makes the continued absence of "The Friendly Island" even more conspicuous. It is also being felt by nearby St. Eustatius and Saba.
Those who don't care about the latter should think again Read more
Connor: Timeshare industry has government’s attention
PHILIPSBURG--Grievances and complaints about a lack of protection from timeshare owners “have not fallen on deaf ears,†Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor said in a press statement issued on Sunday. The continued contribution of timeshare owners to the economy is “very important†to St. Maarten.
Some timeshare owners have the “impression†government does not care about them Read more
The grass might be greener on the other side of the fence, but the mangoes in your own backyard are the sweetest: a report on the USM in 2014.
The Grass Might Be Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence, But The Mangoes In Your Own Backyard Are The Sweetest: A Report On The Usm In 2014
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Too often we half-forget the wisdoms of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This of course is lamentable and tragic.
It is time that we remember and endorse the other part of our grandmother and grandfather's wisdom notes to achieve wholeness as individuals and as a society.
Most of us are familiar with the saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We use this colourful expression routinely to state that from our dwelling place, from our little Caribbean island, from where we are standing, what takes place educationally in the overdeveloped countries in Western Europe and the USA and Canada or even the emerging economic powers in Asia, and what people in those countries have materially and we don't because we lack their educational system, is simply extraordinary.
We consider ourselves deprived and long to be there; we dream of having those mountains of things and those degrees that they have Read more
Minister Connor: Concerns of timeshare Industry has government’s attention.
He said though government knows and appreciates the industry and its players, legislation must reflect protection measures for the industry Read more
Minister Connor Continues Familiarization Of His Departments
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication Claret Connor on Friday last continued his familiarization round with the departments under his Ministry.
He met with all department heads at Divi Little Bay Resort to get an update on all developments and ongoing projects.
Cruise terminal bomb hoax causes traffic disruption
PHILIPSBURG--A bomb scare on board a cruise ship docked at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facility on Wednesday afternoon turned out to be a hoax.
The threat sparked a large scale security alert after a security officer reported that a crew member of one of the four cruise ships had told him around 4:00pm that she was carrying a bomb.
Security immediately informed the police, who rushed over to the cruise terminal, which was shut off from all traffic. Police, Port Security and the captain of the vessel discussed the situation Read more
Economic Affairs Minister Meets With Staff
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Traffic & Communication Claret Connor on Wednesday met with members of his staff bureau including Ministry Secretary General Miguel DeWeever (second from left).
The Minister received an update on ongoing issues under his Ministry as well as discussed initial ways Read more
Prime Minister And Minister Of Tourism And Economic Affairs Visits Port
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Tourism, Economic and Maritime Affairs Claret Connor visited the harbour facilities to receive a first hand briefing of the incident.
They were provided with a detail report by Harbour CEO Mark Mingo, Head of Security at the Harbour Roberto Leventsone and Police Commissioner Carl John.
Both Ministers stressed that such actions that threaten(s) the corporate and economic image of St Read more
Minister Connor Pays Tribute To D’Shnay
St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism Claret Connor recently paid tribute to St. Maarten’s reigning Teen Carnival Queen D’Shnay York who won the Haynes Smith Talent Teen Pageant in St. Kitts on December 30. He congratulated her on behalf of his entire Ministry.
The Minister presented D’Shnay with a congratulatory letter from his ministry and hailed her as a true ambassador for St Read more
Port Records More Than 2 Million Cruise Visitors: Research: Industry Overstates Spending Per Cruise Passenger
St. Maarten – On the last day of 2014, the Oasis of the Seas docked in the cruise port, bringing the estimated total number of cruise arrivals for the year 2014 over the historic 2 million mark, at 2,000,864. Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor honored John and Marleen Tharpe and their three granddaughters from Columbus, Georgia, as the 2 millionth-passengers Read more
Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor: “Service Levels And Standards Are Important Principlesâ€
St. Maarten – The government will share many ideas and initiatives to trigger tangible economic growth in the first few months of 2015 and most of these initiatives will be done in collaboration with the private sector and non-governmental organizations with a strong focus on service, Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor states in a press release issued last night.
Echoing UP-party-leader Heyliger, Connor states that he looks forward to starting his tenure with renewed passion and vision “that will hopefully effect sustainable economic growth for our country and a better quality of life for all Read more
Ferrier wants PM to explain how counterpart policy will be applied
~ 'It will stifle economic growth' ~
PHILIPSBURG--Businessman Michael Ferrier is looking forward to an explanation from Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on how the counterpart policy will be applied in St Read more
Minister Connor pays Tribute to D’Shnay.
The Minister presented D'Shnay with a congratulatory letter from his Ministry and hailed her as a true ambassador for St Read more
Port welcomes two-millionth passenger on New Year’s Eve
POINTE BLANCHE--Port St. Maarten has announced that on New Year's Eve, it welcomed the historical two-millionth cruise passenger. By the last day of the year, the country had received approximately 2,000,864 cruise passengers.
John and Marleen Tharpe and their three granddaughters had been on-board the Oasis of the Seas and were selected by newly instated Minister of Tourism Claret Connor at Dr Read more
Minister Connor: Private sector, NGO’s and service are vital for tangible economic growth.
In addressing the public for the first time since being sworn in, the Minister said he looks forward to starting his tenure with renewed passion and vision that will hopefully effect sustainable economic growth for our country and a better quality of life for all.
"As many would agree, any notable advancement for our country and our livelihood, is contingent on our country's economic development Read more
Port St. Maarten hits historical two millionth cruise passenger mark on New Year’s Eve.
Family John and Marleen Tharpe along with their three granddaughters, passengers onboard the Oasis of the Seas, were selected by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor on Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 at the Dr Read more
Taxi associations formalising prices
PHILIPSBURG--Four taxi associations – Dutch St. Maarten, Airport, Genesis and Philipsburg Independent – are in the late stages of formalising price zones for the island.
After a number of meetings with each other and Transport Minister Ted Richardson, progress had been made, although the plans have not had the final sign-off. This task will now fall onto the newly appointed Transport Minister Claret Connor.
However, the associations chose to publicise the plans in the form of a pre-release Read more
The International Hospitality & Tourism Management (IHTM) program of ICUC was founded on The World Bank's recommendation Read more