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Connor meets with airlift partners in US

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor, while attending the Miami's Seatrade Cruise Conference, took the opportunity to meet with key airlift partners American Airlines, Jet Blue and Delta Airlines.

On Sunday, Connor said it was very important to understand the areas of business development and how all stakeholders could further maximise on opportunities, a TEATT press release informed.

The Minister pointed out that the country is very busy during the high season (November to May) and the objective now is to stimulate more business during the off-season (June to October).

"The airlines are willing to adjust schedules to accommodate business Read more

Recycling collection point opened in Tamarind Hill

TAMARIND HILL--A community recycling collection point was opened in Tamarind Hill on Saturday, as an initiative started by Learning Unlimited (LU) Preparatory School eleventh grader Bodine Beentjes.

The student took the initiative to organise the setup of the collection point for Tamarind Hill Estates in the Red Pond area. Beentjes collaborated with Steve Hammond of St. Maarten Recycle and Roy Tempels of Clean St. Maarten. Parties worked out a plan on how the collection area would be built, which garbage materials would be collected separate from the regular household garbage and how and when to pick up these items.

With the support of the Tamarind Hill Homeowners Foundation and the owners of Tamaridge Apartments (who made the land available), a garbage separation area was built.

Clean St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Honorable Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Claret Connor while attending the Seatrade Cruise Conference in Miami, Honorable Minister Claret Connor also took the opportunity while in the United States to meet with key airlift partners, namely American Airlines, Jet Blue and Delta Airlines.
Minister Connor on Sunday stated that it was very important to understand the areas of business development, and how all stakeholders could further maximize on opportunities Read more

style="text-align: center;">UPP Leader bit off more than he could chew --- political pundits.

PHILIPSBURG:--- With the political shambles within the United Peoples Party several persons such as Minister of TEATT Claret Connor and UPP candidate Julian Rollocks do not know what tomorrow will bring for them Read more

EXCLUSIVE: Maurice Lake Jumps back in order to take up VROMI Minister seat --- Where would this leave Minister Claret Conner? – Reliable Sources.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Maurice Lake seems to have gotten exactly what he wanted from the leader of the United Peoples Party in order for him to remain a member of the United Peoples Party and to keep the shaky coalition in-tact.
SMN News learnt that MP Maurice Lake wanted to remain in his position as the Minister of VROMI when the UPP/De Weever coalition was formed but his party leader Theodore Heyliger allegedly denied him his request stating that he did not do what he "Heyliger" wanted him to do while he was a Minister Read more

Port St. Maarten receives best cruise port destination award

Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Claret Connor (left) receives a plaque from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. President and Chief Operations Officer Adam Goldstein (right).

 

POINTE BLANCHE--A top Port St. Maarten management and supervisory board of directors delegation will return on Friday after attending the 31st Cruise Shipping Miami 2015 with an award: Port St Read more

Minister Connor Stresses Importance Of Tourism To Mac 3Rd Graders

St. Maarten – Minister of TEATT Claret Connor visited the Methodist Agogic Center (MAC), St. John’s Campus and spoke to the 3rd grade students of campus 1 & 2 about tourism and how it affects their lives.

The visit is in keeping with the Ministry’s vision to create greater awareness and understanding about the industry and the importance to the economy and by extension, the citizens of this country Read more

Public Transport Permits Under The Microscope

MP Wescot-Williams sends questions to Minister Connor

St. Maarten – The closed-door committee meeting of last Tuesday about bus and taxi permits ended prematurely, because Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Minister Claret Connor asked committee members to submit their questions about this issue in writing.

Connor said that he has decided to keep the moratorium for public transportation permits in place Read more

Marlin-Romeo calls for consumer agency

PHILIPSBURG--The establishment of a consumer protection agency is called for by independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo.

Consumer protection laws exist, but with no agency to execute the laws, she said in a press statement on Sunday.

Marlin-Romeo intends to champion an "immediate" discussion about establishment of the agency with St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Honorable Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Claret Connor visited the Methodist Agogic Center (MAC), St. John's Campus and spoke to the 3rd grade students of campus 1 & 2 about Tourism and how it affects their lives.
The visit is in keeping with the Ministry's vision, which is to create greater awareness and understanding about the industry and the importance to the economy and by extension, the citizens of this country.
Minister Connor was very impressed with the knowledge the students have about Tourism, and how it contributes to the island Read more

Minister Teatt Connor Stresses Importance Of Tourism To Mac 3Rd Graders

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On March 11, 2015, Honorable Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Claret Connor visited the Methodist Agogic Center (MAC), St. John's Campus and spoke to the 3rd grade students of campus 1 & 2 about Tourism and how it affects their lives.

The visit is in keeping with the Ministry's vision, which is to create greater awareness and understanding about the industry and the importance to the economy and by extension, the citizens of this country.

Minister Connor was very impressed with the knowledge the students have about Tourism, and how it contributes to the island Read more

George questions gasoline delivery

PHILIPSBURG--The length of time the reserves at gas stations last, the delivery dates of gasoline for the past two years and controls at gas stations were among the questions sent to Tourism and Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor by National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament George Pantophlet via Parliament.

The questions to the minister stemmed from the gasoline price increases on February 27, March 5 and March 9 by a total of 25.7 guilder cents.

"Explanation needs to be given to the public, reason why, in contrast to when the prices go down, the increase takes place at a very rapid pace," stated Pantophlet in the letter.

Pantophlet requested information about the last time gasoline was purchased by Sol and Texaco, the number of days a tanker takes to arrive from Trinidad to St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Undersigned Member of Parliament George Pantophlet is requesting in accordance with article 62 of the Constitution that the Minister of Economic Affairs Claret Connor provide him with the answers to the following questions:

How long does the reserve at the gas stations last? And how often is gasoline delivered to St Read more

Philipsburg- Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate “Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals”.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.
The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank Read more

Wib Middle Management Employees Move Closer To Obtaining Associate Of Arts Degree At Usm

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Windward Islands Bank employees received their USM specialized certificate "Towards an Associate of Arts Degree in Business Management for St. Maarten Professionals".

The University of St. Martin (USM) collaborated with the Windward Islands Bank Ltd. (WIB) to offer its Middle Management employees a set of academic courses with the objective to update their skills in Business Administration, and offer them the opportunity to gain a USM's Associate of Arts degree.

The program for the WIB employees, which consisted of the components, Business and Marketing, Business Communication, Management and Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, was held at the training facility of the bank.

The USM instructors of the Hospitality and Business Divisions, Dr Read more

Beach Policy under review, vending moratorium stays

PHILIPSBURG--The country's Beach Policy is under review "to find the right balance on how beaches are utilized," Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister Claret Connor told Members of Parliament (MPs) in a meeting of Parliament's TEATT Permanent Committee on Tuesday afternoon in Parliament House.

The draft policy is now with the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI Read more

Minister Teatt Connor Presented With 2014 Yearbook

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Department of Statistics (STAT) published a Yearbook at the end of 2014.

It is a user-friendly; a compact publication based on the latest statistics on a range of topics from St. Maarten's population, to health & education to tourism and transport and much more.

The Yearbook is available digitally at www.stat.gov.sx and priced at ANG 25.00 for print copies which can be bought at the Receivers Office.

In Photo: L to R: Minister Hon. Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister responsible for Aviation Affairs Claret Connor and the Department of Civil Aviation and Shipping and Maritime would like to advise the public against the use of remote piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in Sint Maarten, particularly in the area near Simpson Bay. This advisory comes in the wake of these aircraft systems being operated off vessels in the Simpson bay lagoon and in the Simpson Bay area adjacent to Runway 28.
These aircraft systems pose a danger to landing and departing aircrafts at the airport and should not be operated in the area or anywhere on Sint Maarten without the express approval from the Department Read more

Editorial - Reassuring

That Arke will be flying to Princess Juliana International Airport SXM twice weekly from Schiphol in Amsterdam starting next winter (see related story) is obviously good news. After all, attracting more visitors from the Netherlands, but also the rest of Europe so far has proved a challenge for St. Maarten.

That is certainly the case compared to the ABC-islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), which have been very successful in this regard. As a matter of fact, the alternative Arke provided to Royal Dutch airline KLM over there especially concerning fares no doubt played a big role in that development.

To be sure, St Read more

MPs call for clarity on taxi, bus permits

PHILIPSBURG--Government is called on to make the register of bus, taxi and tour-bus permits public and to give an explanation of the current moratorium on issuance of permits for those types of businesses by two Members of Parliament (MPs).

Independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo said in a press statement issued late Monday night she "wants clarity" on the moratorium Read more

Arke Airline returns to St. Maarten November

RIJSWIJK--After ceasing service to St. Maarten six years ago, Arkefly (Shortened to Arke in the current corporate design to match the travel agency) is resuming flights to St. Maarten per November this year, the Dutch airline announced on Tuesday.

Flights from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to St. Maarten will be carried out with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at considerably lower fares, some twenty per cent cheaper at least, than competitors Royal Dutch Airline KLM and Air France.

Arke, a subsidiary of travel organisation TUI Netherlands, will be scheduling two flights per week, on Wednesdays and Sundays Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The police department has again intensified their general controls as of Monday March 2nd with the start of the Heineken Regatta. This event which has been growing steadily over the years will be given a lot of attention because of the large amount of visitors to the island and the many events that will be held during this event. The police department will be working in close collaboration with the V.K.S., the Coast Guard, Customs, Sint Maarten Sea Rescue Foundation, Immigration, Border Control and Protection, Harbor Group of Companies and the Public Prosecutors Office Read more

style="text-align: center;"> Says Benelux representatiosn being worked on ~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Based on discussions that have taken place, Honorable Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Claret Connor, hereby announces that Arkefly will start flying to St. Maarten as of November 2015 using the Dreamliner aircraft.

Minister Connor, his Cabinet and the management of the St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Saturday, February 28 at the University of St. Maarten, a certificate ceremony was held for those civil servants who successfully completed the USM course in English and Spanish.

Present at the ceremony were Minister of TEATT, The Honorable Claret Connor, Secretary General, a.i., Ministry Education, Sports and Culture, Jorien Wuite and General Affairs Director of Resources and Support Erno Labega.

The courses were organized by P&O (Personeel & Organisatie) and executed by USM Read more