New Venezuelan weekly
charter starts Saturday
MAHO--A group of 91 Venezuelans descended on St. Maarten Tuesday afternoon as part of a new weekly direct charter service from the South American country. The group includes journalists, a television crew and travel agents who are part of an advance party that is evaluating the destination.
The Ascerca Airlines charter officially starts Saturday and is expected to continue year-round, St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Promotional Assistant William Bell told The Daily Herald.
As soon as the Venezuelans arrived here they began their site inspection at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino and other properties, took a shopping trip to Philipsburg, and enjoyed dinner at Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort. The group departs for Venezuela on Thursday.
The charter includes a complete vacation package for travellers with a choice of staying at Sonesta Maho, Sonesta Great Bay, Port de Plaisance or The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa on the Dutch side. The French side accommodation options are Le Flamboyant, Hotel Esméralda and Beach Plaza.
The group will visit sites on the French side and conduct a site inspection at The Westin today, Wednesday.
Bell said the charter was a result of continued work by the bureau to attract more South American tourists. This market was once booming for St. Maarten, but numbers dwindled as a result of economic change and unreliable airlines.
Venezuelans are very good spenders, because the travelling public is mostly middle and upper class, Bell said.
Intensifying promotion in South America is high on the agenda of new Tourism Commissioner Roy Marlin. He said last week that efforts were being made to attract more tourists from that continent.
Developing tourism from other than the United States and existing markets was emphasised in the island’s 10-year Tourism Master Plan TourMap. Reasons for the suggestion include protecting the destination from economic slowdown in the United States and creating year-round tourism, as South Americans travel during the traditional low season months (summer time in North America).
There have been other charters and scheduled flights to St. Maarten from the continent over the years.
