Govt wants info on local
spin-off of airport project
PHILIPSBURG--Reports from the World Tourism Organization (WTO) indicating that global tourism and travel are on the rise are reflected in the cruise passenger and airport arrival numbers for St. Maarten, Tourism Commissioner Theo Heyliger said in a Government Information Service (GIS) release.
The island is expecting to host an historic two million visitors (600,000 stay-over visitors and 1.4 million cruise visitors) this year.
According to WTO, short-term tourism data for the first four months of 2004 confirm an upward trend already visible at the end of 2003.
"The global trends in tourism and travel are also very important to tourism growth in St. Maarten. The signs are crystal clear that travel confidence is back. The WTO Barometer, published at the end of June, shows that the positive economic performance and prospects in the major tourism generating markets indicate that conditions are present for demand to be back on the track of growth," Heyliger said.
Important is that travel, particularly from Europe, is finally picking up, he added. However, Heyliger cautioned that there were uncertainties in this upward trend, such as the threat of terrorism, high energy prices and tropical weather systems that might develop.
The WTO Barometer report stated that destinations in the Caribbean, Central and South America had kept their very positive performance and were enjoying the competitive advantage of a weak dollar and the search for "known and nearby" destinations to North America.
