PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Tourist Bureau re-launched its Safety Tip Brochure on Monday, an easy to read, to the point and colourful printout centred on safety tips, useful contact information including emergency numbers, and how to identify police officers. This kicks off a slate of Caribbean Tourism Month (CTM) activities.
In an invited comment about the destination’s marketing, which has been a concern expressed by stakeholders, Bureau Acting Director Augusto Priest said that progress is being made in establishing a relationship with tourism representatives for the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), and that St. Maarten, together with Saba and St. Eustatius would be taking part in ‘Vakantiebeurs,’ which is the largest tourism trade show in the Netherlands. St. Maarten has not been represented since 2013.
Priest said on Monday at the brochure re-launch that the Bureau had a safety brochure in the past, but with the fresh re-launch, it is hoped that it can reach more people, with a friendly and subtle approach to promoting safety for visitors.
With the rise in crime, the destination can ill-afford to not be proactive in encouraging safety in the important tourism industry, he said.
Some batches have recently been distributed to companies, and interested businesses may call the Bureau at 549-0200 to request the brochures to be delivered. Relevant businesses include accommodation, car rentals and activity desks, for example.
Some 10,000 have already been printed, and more are underway. The brochure, including one English-language side and the other in Spanish, will also be made available at www.vacationstmaarten.com for download.
The re-launch was officially announced at the Government Administration Building by Priest and Visitor Relations Officer Lisa Coffi of the Tourist Bureau, alongside Tourism Minister Ernest Sams and Senior Policy Advisor Bernard Hunt of the supporting Cabinet, and Rudolph Bloeiman and Steven Carty of the St. Maarten Police Force.
Invited guests Jim Rosen, Robert Brown and Reina Martin, all tourism industry stakeholders, also joined.
The re-launch took place on the day before Caribbean Tourism Day (CTD), and is the first of a string of CTM activities meant to highlight the importance of St. Maarten’s economic lifeline.
Diya Sachdev, a 12-year-old who won the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Poster Competition, facilitated locally by the Tourist Bureau, will be presented a cheque in the presence of the tourism minister today.
Other activities for the month include participation of the Tourist Bureau at the Milton Peters College Career & Study Fair, Awards Dinner Ceremony for hospitality sector workers, a historical school tour for secondary school students, a tourism walk-a-thon, the profiling of young industry professionals, tourism awareness presentations, a Public Service Announcement (PSA) competition amongst secondary schools, and the placing of congratulatory banners throughout the country.
CTD is observed annually on the first Tuesday of CTM, November.
Tourist Bureau kicks off tourism month with brochure re-launch
