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Congrats For Emil Lee

St. Maarten – The Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE) has congratulated Past President Emil Lee for his leadership as President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and wishes him success in his newly appointed post as Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor for the Government of St Read more

Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

Emil Lee Accepts Minster Position In St. Maarten, Steps Down As Chta President As Of Nov. 18, President-Elect Karolin Troubetzkoy Begins Journey As Leader For The Association

MIAMI, FL - Emil Lee, Immediate Past President of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), has "passed the torch" to First Vice President and President-Elect Karolin Troubetzkoy eight months earlier than initially scheduled, as Lee has accepted the opportunity to serve as Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs for the country of St Read more

Quotable Caribbean

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - "The path of violence and hatred does not solve the problems of humanity, and using the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy." - Pope Francis (New York Times)

 "Terrorism is a scourge upon our common humanity. The people of all countries have a right to live in freedom within the laws that govern our international system. In our 21st Century world, which has become inextricably interlinked, terrorism in all its forms, particularly directed at innocent civilians, must be halted by global action Read more

Emil Lee, New Minister Of Labor, Health And Social Affairs, Wastes No Time

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In a bid to attract the best and brightest candidates in St. Maarten to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, the newly appointed minister Emil Lee has taken the unconventional step of opening a public recruitment process and advertising for the different positions at his cabinet in the ministry.  Breaking the unwritten but time-honored rule of incoming ministers picking a cabinet mostly from their pool of political supporters, Lee has reasserted his commitment to making the country of St Read more

Governor Receives Final Report William Marlin

Harbour View, Sint Maarten – On November 18th, 2015, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report of formateur W. Marlin.

The formateur has accepted the commission to form a new government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the NA-fraction, the DP-fraction, the USP-fraction, independent Member of Parliament S Read more

Dp Announcement - Emil Lee To Be Next Minister Of Vsa

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Democratic Party would like to announce the swearing in of DP candidate Emil Lee as the next Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA).  

Emil will be sworn in tomorrow Thursday, November 19th, 2015 Read more

Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2016 Expands Outreach To Latin America, Emerging Destinations & Niche Markets, Appointment Requests Now Open; Educational Sessions Added

THE CARIBBEAN - The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is raising the global profile of Caribbean Travel Marketplace providing opportunities for hoteliers attending the event to find new contacts and sources of business. CHTA is targeting wholesalers in Latin America and emerging destinations as well as tour operators specializing in niche markets. Caribbean Travel Marketplace is scheduled Jan. 21-23, 2016 at the Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas.

Building upon the existing and longstanding portfolio of global operators conducting business in the Caribbean, CHTA is focusing on securing the participation of Latin American tour operators in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Venezuela and emerging destinations Russia, India, Scandinavia, Ukraine and the Middle East.

            With the growth and importance of the niche travel segments to its membership, CHTA is inviting niche tour operators to attend Caribbean Travel Marketplace Read more

Dp Pushes Again Membership Of Open Government Partnership

DP policy advisor Emil Lee at the summit in Mexico City. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – The Democratic Party is once more pushing the country’s membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an issue it made a core element of its election campaign last year Read more

Emil Lee Attends Open Government Partnership Summit On Behalf Of Dp

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The DP was represented at the recent OGP Summit by Emil Lee.   Unfortunately, due to the current political crisis, DP Party Leader and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams had to cancel her planned attendance. According to MP Sarah Wescot Williams, “The DP supports having St Maarten apply for membership to the OGP.  In order for St Maarten to become a member, there are a number of requirement with which St Maarten would need to comply.  Although St Maarten doesn’t currently qualify for membership, this provides the country with an excellent road map to follow in our path towards becoming more open.  There is an undeniable connection between the degree of openness and the level of prosperity of any country.  The more open and transparent the government, the more the people participate in and benefit from the economy.  We felt that this conference was such a valuable learning experience that Emil and I funded the trip at our personal expense.”According to Emil Lee, “the amazing thing for St Maarten is that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.  Many countries have similar problems to St Maarten.  Many have issues with how to make the budgeting process more transparent and inclusive.  How to make procurement and government contracts less susceptible to corruption?  By participating in OGP, St Maarten can benefit from all of the experiences and work of other countries.”Use of Confidentiality Clauses: A great exampleAccording to Lee, “In St Maarten, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the use of confidentiality clauses in contracts with government and government owned companies.  There are countries where the contracts are not even legally binding until they have been placed on line for anyone to review.  Additionally, there are clear guidelines for what items are able to be covered by confidentiality clauses.  Pricing and financial information typically does not quality as items that would be able to be shrouded by confidentiality clauses.  This clause is usually reserved for proprietary processes and trade secrets.”OGP SummitThe OGP or Open Government Partnership hosts the OGP Global Summit every two years in the Country of the current Chair, this year in Mexico City.  Representatives from government, academic institutions, civil society and multilateral organizations come together to exchange experiences and share best practices and major developments in open government.OGP Mission:“OGP’s vision is that more governments become sustainably more transparent, more accountable, and more responsive to their own citizens, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of governance, as well as the quality of services that citizens receive Read more

Reduced Ticket-Tax Boosts Revenue And Employment

St. Maarten – Robin Hayes, President & CEO of JetBlue Airways and keynote speaker at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC), held last week in Curacao, stunned his audience with a message to which few had paid much attention before. Hayes stated: “At JetBlue, we are very much thinking about the relative tax burden on our customers as we allocate capacity.”

For countries that rely heavily on the air transportation of visitors for up to 70% of their GDP, few tourism planners in the Caribbean have ever considered examining their relative position within the region concerning taxes on airline tickets Read more

Winners And Losers: Who Will Survive The Polls In February?

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – February 9, 2016 is crunch day for politicians and those who aspire to become one. The parliamentary elections – for some mysterious reason perceived by some as ‘snap elections’, whatever that may be – will give voters the opportunity to speak their mind about the constitutional drama that concluded on Wednesday when the ministers of the Marcel Gumbs cabinet tendered their resignation and Governor Drs Read more

>THE CARIBBEAN (Oct. 29, 2015) - Robin Hayes, President & CEO of JetBlue Airways and keynote speaker at the Caribbean Tourism Organization's (CTO) State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC), held last week in Curacao, stunned his audience with a message to which few had paid much attention before. Hayes stated: "At JetBlue, we are very much thinking about the relative tax burden on our customers as we allocate capacity."
For countries that rely heavily on the air transportation of visitors for up to 70% of their GDP, few tourism planners in the Caribbean have ever considered examining their relative position within the region concerning taxes on airline tickets Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- SOTIC is an opportunity for Ministries of Tourism and private sector to interact, dialogue and exchange ideas and experiences. According to CHTA President Emil Lee, as a strategic partner of the CTO, CHTA believes it is important that private sector and public sector work together and support each others events. A key part of developing any partnership relationship is to build an understanding of each others challenges and aspirations Read more

Emil Lee Attends Sotic In Curacao

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Emil Lee, CHTA President and Curacao Minster of Economic Development and Tourism Stanley Palm meet at the CTO SOTIC or State of the industry conference.SOTIC is an opportunity for Ministries of Tourism and private sector to interact, dialogue and exchange ideas and experiences.  According to CHTA President Emil Lee, as a strategic partner of the CTO, CHTA believes it is important that private sector and public sector work together and support each others events Read more

"Quotable Caribbean" October 2015

Caribbean - "The success of CHIEF (Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum) is a reflection of our new vision and a validation that we have moved in the right direction. Besides seeing increased participation from middle management, we are seeing a new generation of hoteliers becoming involved and enthusiastically engaged." - Emil Lee, President, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

 "Management sets standards of performance, assumes responsibility for work objectives, initiates focuses and serves as motivators for employees for the purpose of achieving the company goals Read more

Chta Honors Stars Of The Industry With Caribbean Employee, Supervisor, Association Executive & Allied Awards

PUERTO RICO - The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) recognized the stars of the Caribbean hospitality industry at this past weekend's Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), which took place Oct. 2 - 4, 2015 at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico. Those honored, include:Caribbean Tourism Employee of the Year: Andre James, Hyatt Regency TrinidadCaribbean Tourism Supervisor of the Year: Lissa Cuffy, Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach ResortCaribbean National Hotel Association Executive of the Year: Neil Forrester, Antigua Hotels & Tourist AssociationCaribbean Allied Member of the Year: William "Bill" Clegg, Choice Hotels International"These individuals reflect the true spirit of Caribbean tourism professionals Read more

Cuba Getting U.S. Visitors Continues To Be Focus At Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum

THE CARIBBEAN - Cuba: Opportunity or Threat? was the final General Session at the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) in Puerto Rico over the weekend and the general consensus appeared to be cautious optimism based on expectations of diversion of visitors from other countries, but overall a chance to highlight the diversity of the culture of the region.

There was also concurrence that the entire Caribbean can shine as the spotlight falls on Cuba, exposing more potential travelers to the rich diversity and culture of the region.

CHIEF was organized by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) and held at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico.

Cuba continued to be the focus of many conversations as the U.S Read more

DP proposes short-term cabinet, electoral reform, election in a year

DP members Giselle York, Sarah Wescot-Williams (leader and MP) and Emil Lee.

PHILIPSBURG--Because snap elections will not solve ship-jumping amongst Members of Parliament, the Democratic Party (DP) says that if it boils down to elections having to be held in the country, the current majority coalition should be given a chance to appoint a “serious” cabinet for 12 months and mandate Parliament to complete electoral reform in a year so that this can be incorporated in the next elections.

DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams said the party recognised that Governor Eugene Holiday was faced with two basic decisions Read more

Opinion: Something’S Brewing

We know since last night that Governor Holiday sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. We do not know the content of this letter, but there is no doubt that this will come out some time today.

The past couple of days, two political parties have come out with press conferences where they made their positions clear. The National Alliance nor the Democratic Party fear elections, they say.

Do they really want elections? Not really Read more

In Case Governor Signs Decree To Dissolve Parliament: Dp Proposes Interim Cabinet And Elections After One Year

From left: DP treasurer Giselle York, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and policy advisor Emil Lee. Photo today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – In case Governor Holiday decides to sign the decree to dissolve parliament and elections follow on December 8, the Democratic Party proposes to annul the current motion, to let the new majority choose “a capable Council of Ministers” and to set the date for the elections one year from the appointment of this council Read more

Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum Opens New Era For Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  - The just completed successful Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) taking place in Puerto Rico has emerged as a milestone setting the tone for a new era for the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), according the CHTA President Emil Lee.

            "The success of CHIEF is a reflection of our new vision and a validation that we have moved in the right direction," said Emil Lee as more than 250 attendees participated in three days of networking and learning best practices at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico.  Many of the attendees were next generation employees Read more

Governor will not sign Resolution to call new elections --- What type of stand-off do we have now? (UPDATED)

style="text-align: center;">Several Candidates selected to be screened for Ministerial Posts.

PHILIPSBURG:--- According to information provided to SMN News the Governor of St. Maarten drs. Eugene Holiday convoked Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs to his office on Friday where he informed him that he will not be signing the resolution for new elections since there is a majority in Parliament Read more

St. Maarten hosts event on innovation in the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories.

>Brussels:---- Anguilla and the Falklands are geographically apart but their representatives are among 15 from the European Union’s Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) gathering in Sint Maarten 5-7 October to brainstorm the same challenge: diversifying economies with innovation. Prime Minister of St Maarten, Marcel F.A. Gumbs, will open the event along with Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications Ernest Sams.
The three-day workshop is part of the European Union- funded project, ‘Territorial Strategies for Innovation’ (April 2014-April 2018) Read more