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SXM working on direct flight out of Germany
PHILIPSBURG - St. Maarten might be able to secure a direct flight from Germany to the island, disclosed Commissioner of Tourism, Frans Richardson. He said he and local tourism stakeholders met with Air Berlin recently while away on tourism related business and there is a prospect that the airline could start direct flights into St. Maarten. [More....]
Scheduled flights from Latin America to start next month
The Daily Herald - PHILIPSBURG - Successful is how Tourism Commissioner Frans Richardson has labeled his recent weeklong trip to Brazil.
The biggest achievement of the trip was the announcement of a new scheduled year round flight by GOL Airlines that will originate in Argentina with an intermittent stop in Brazil.
WestJet makes Inaugural flight to St. Maarten
PHILIPSBURG - WestJet made their inaugural call to the island of St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon. The carrier will now provide a new airlink for St. Maarten from Canada with 3 scheduled flights a week out of Toronto. WestJet had previously served the St. Maarten destination as a charter carrier however their return as a scheduled carrier, is a clear sign of commitment to the destination St. Maarten.[More....]
Frans: Local tourism in significant decline
PHILIPSBURG--The tourism industry has decreased significantly according to Tourism Commissioner Frans Richardson. He says the local economy suffered an approximately US $12.4 million loss during the period January through June. Giving a statistical overview, Richardson noted that overall visitor arrivals during the first quarter of this year had decreased by 14.6 per cent compared to last year. For the second quarter, the decline was not as pronounced, amounting to five per cent compared to the same period last year. [More....]
Roy: Frans cannot take credit for WestJet flight
PHILIPSBURG - A new flight doesn't happen in four weeks and one visit with airline executives at a conference therefore Aviation and Tourism Commissioner Frans Richardson could not take credit for the fact that WestJet flights start in November, said former Tourism Commissioner Roy Marlin. Marlin said WestJet was in the making since last year when he was in office on Monday. He first learnt about the airline's interest in adding St. Maarten to its schedule during the Caribbean Marketplace in St. Lucia last year. The former commissioner said he didn't say anything about the flight publicly because he wanted everything to be in place first.[More....]
Commissioner Frans Richardson reacts to Marlin on WestJet
PHILIPSBURG - Commissioner Frans Richardson responded to the call from Councilman Roy Marlin that he should not take credit for WestJet plans to provide sheduled service to St. Maarten. He stated that the matter of airlift has had his attention since he took office; one topic which still has his attention is Westjet, a Canadian carrier, to provide scheduled airlift service to St. Maarten. Key members of my office were and continue to be instrumental in facilitating the ongoing process for obtaining the required permits and licenses to realize WestJet scheduled airlift service into St. Maarten.[More....]
St. Maarten Economy on the down trend -- already 12.4 million lost revenues
SMNN -
Philipsburg: -- Commissioner of economic affairs Frans Richardson at a press conference on Tuesday presented figures to show the downward trend the local economy is taking and the efforts his office is presently taking to revive the economy. Richardson called on members of the media to present the facts to the public, in order to safeguard against false impressions being created. Richardson said in the past a very different picture of the economy was painted as well as with the tourism product. The commissioner released figures from January to June of this year and it is important to know that the island has already lost of $12.4 million in revenue during the first half of the year. This amount does include the loss the yachting industry and other segments have suffered.[More....]
Tourism Commissioner meets marketing, airline stakeholders in Florida
SXM Island Times - PHILIPSBURG - A St. Maarten delegation led by tourism commissioner Frans Richardson, was in Florida recently, exploring, among others, the potential for marketing the island and to address airlift issues.
The delegation was updated about trends in airlift bookings and hotel reservations, tracking developments as of 2007. The island government of St. Maarten is presently awaiting proposals with regards to marketing the island for the remainder of 2009.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SBDF INFORM COMMISSIONER FRANS RICHARDSON.
SMNN -
GREAT BAY– The commissioner responsible for economic affairs, Frans Richardson, recently met with the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Small Business Development Foundation (SBDF), as part of information gathering sessions with major stakeholders. Chamber president Glen Carty and board member Arthur Bute represented the chamber and director Ludwig Quenniche represented the SBDF.[More....]
Occupancy dips slightly in June
PHILIPSBURG - The hotel sector saw a 6.5-per cent drop in room occupancy in June compared to the same period last year. Timeshare occupancy had a slight increase of 0.9 per cent, according to St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA). The slight movement in timeshare occupancy doesn't mean very much, said St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) Second Vice President Jim Rosen. Owners return yearly to use their units. “Timeshare is recession-resilient and hurricane-resilient.” [More....]
