Time to pause
While this year’s theme “Tourism opens doors to women” to celebrate World Tourism Day is undoubtedly worthwhile, the day should also be used to reflect on tourism in a more general sense. Certainly for an island with a one-pillar tourism economy like St. Maarten/St. Martin, it is important to frequently evaluate where tourism has been, where it is and especially where it is going.
The island has certainly done well in the past years and decades, developing into a strong and popular destination, despite the setbacks caused by several hurricane hits and the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, by far the biggest market. While the numbers are still growing and the developments ongoing, concerns are beginning to be raised about the impact of adding so many visitors and buildings, in terms of the environment, beauty, infrastructure and quality of life in general.
When some of the new projects come on line this high season the local roads will be busier than ever, despite efforts to alleviate traffic through roundabouts, etcetera. News that the new government on the French side supports a road/bridge from the airport across the lagoon to keep traffic heading for Marigot and that side of Cole Bay out of the congested Simpson Bay/Cole Bay area is most welcome, but the question is how much that will help if the number of cars on the road continues to grow.
Some might say the number of vehicles should be limited, but how does one prohibit a tourist who wants to enjoy the island from driving around or someone who buys a million-dollar condo from having a car? The ultimate solution lies in limiting the building of more accommodations that must, after all, be filled.
In a recent WEEKender article about the various ongoing developments, even one of the big real estate agents in the island indicted that it might be time for a moratorium. That should be a clear signal that concern about overdevelopment is widespread.
Nobody is suggesting that commitments already made for projects are not fulfilled; that would be wrong and bad for the investment climate. What should be considered is not accepting any new projects, at least for a while, so the effects of the current development can be properly evaluated.
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