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Open Government

Our government wishes to be open and transparent. We have seen some examples of this given by Public Health Minister Emil Lee and only last week, Education Minister Silveria Jacobs confirmed that she is on the same page – actually, that the whole government is on the same page.

Well, let’s test those statements against an initiative that came up in the Netherlands and that seems to fit St Read more

Maho Group Appreciates Dedicated Team Members

St. Maarten – The Maho Group recognized its outstanding and dedicated team members as Stars of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry this week at Sonesta Resorts’ End of the Year Team Appreciation evening.

The resort group singled out a number of team members in various categories such as Employee of Year and Supervisor of the Year and in novelty categories like Best Smile and Punctuality and Grooming. All team members were observed throughout the year as they conducted their regular assignments and when they went above and beyond the call of duty.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Emil Lee, who was very active in the field of hospitality and tourism prior to his current post, was a guest at the appreciation evening. 

The awardees were pulled from Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino, Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort Casino and Spa, Ocean Point, Casino Royale, Diamond Casino, and Golden Casino.

The recognition of Employee of the Year was received by Diane Burnett and Maria Mercedes (Sonesta Maho), Soledad Van Lamoen Rivera and Pierre Banno Charles (Ocean Point), Ruby Coby and Marie Philippe (Sonesta Great Bay), Elmira Hodge and Richard Renjifo-Tinini (Casino Royale), Juan Nunez and Maria Bryson (Diamond/Golden Casinos). 

The Best Smile Award were presented to Anna Nelson (Sonesta Maho), Clarissa Clement (Ocean Point), Jonathan Puente (Sonesta Great Bay), Karoll Gil-Huertes (Casino Royale), and Celine Oliente (Diamond/Golden Casinos)

The Supervisor of the Year nod was given to Preciosa Teleisi (Sonesta Maho), Alma Harry (Ocean Point), Miguel Felix (Sonesta Great Bay), and Daniel Ottley (Diamond/Golden Casino).

The Leadership Award went to Irene Correa (Sonesta Maho), Damion Bailey (Ocean Point), Unelta Cherry (Sonesta Great Bay), Yacqueline Rivera (Casino Royale), and Rosa Isaac (Diamond/Golden Casinos).                                                    

The resorts have also paid keep attention to punctuality and grooming of team members and those who have exceeded the ordinary were commended for their commitment to being on time and being well put together Read more

Minister Emil Lee: “Up To Parents To Regulate And Guide Their Children”

St. Maarten – Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Emil Lee, addressed a packed room at Port de Plaisance during the Women’s Desk awareness event and cultural display focusing on “the impact and influence of Music and Media on Violence against Women and Girl”

Minister Lee touched on how the internet is radically changing the way we access information, evolving media continues to increase its influence and penetration into our societies Read more

Women’S Desk Hosts Succesful Event On “The Impact Of Media On Violence Against Women And Girls”

COLE BAY, St. Maarten - Women's desk in the observation of the sixteen days of activism for the elimination of violence against women held an Awareness Ensemble at the Rock House Port de Plaisance under the theme "the impact and influence of music and media on violence against women & girls.

The theme was demonstrated through the art form with moving and heart-stirring performances from the Charlotte Brookson Academy, Funtopia and the National Institute of Arts.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Emil Lee, addressed a packed room focusing on “the impact and influence of Music and Media on Violence against Women and Girls” Read more

Health Minister Getting Up To Speed On Hospital Development Plans

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - It is still early to come with ultimate plans for the St. Maarten Medical Center, stated Minister with the responsibility for Health, Social Affairs and Labor, the Honorable Emil Lee.

The Minister was at the time, responding to a question put to him during the weekly press conference on Wednesday regarding the subject Read more

Pm Marlin: “First Electoral Reform” No Elections In February

Ministers Silveria Jacobs, William Marlin and Emil Lee (l.t.r.) at the first press briefing of the new cabinet Read more

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