MAHO--President of the French Hotel Association Maurice Perrinmarechal said the French hospitality sector is "angry" about a recent decision that prohibits French nationals from travelling to St. Maarten without a passport, a decision, he says, that will have far-reaching financial consequences for not only St. Maarten/St. Martin, but neighbouring islands as well.
It has long been accepted that French nationals could travel to St. Maarten/St. Martin with their national ID cards or valid passports. According to Perrinmarechal, a decision was taken last week to remove the "ID possibility" from IATA (International Air Transport Association) stipulations and require having a passport in order to travel.
He said nobody knew where the decision came from and that it had resulted in a number of people, including families, being left stuck in Paris because they could not travel back to St. Maarten/St. Martin using their ID cards.
Through reliable sources, The Daily Herald has learned that immigration at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) was instructed to recognize a "grace period" of two months, from May 8 to July 7, for French nationals to get their affairs in order and meet international requirements before the passport-only restriction is implemented.
Until then, it is understood, there should be no restrictions for French nationals travelling to St. Maarten. It could not be determined by press time who gave these instructions. Minister of Justice Magali Jacoba when asked about the situation during her press conference on Wednesday, said she was not aware of it.
"This is a terrible decision," Perrinmarechal said. "It came down on us like an axe, because nobody had told us that there would be a policy change. We only found out about it when the airlines refused to board people without a passport. The travel agencies don't even know," he said.
He said people who had business appointments on the French side and those who simply wanted to return home now have to re-book through Guadeloupe and then come through Grand Case, since they can travel through French territories with their ID.
"But this will cost them around US $400. We are very angry, because this could mean a loss of 10 per cent for the French side and have consequences for the relationship between French and Dutch. We can understand requiring people to have a passport, but give us time. If you go to Marigot now and try to get a passport, it takes six months. It is not right to take this decision from one day to the next," Perrinmarechal said.
He said the hotel association and other hospitality sector representatives have sought a meeting with the airlines and relevant authorities for next week.
