Commissioner of Tourism and Aviation Frans Richardson reached an agreement with GOL Airlines in Brazil on Friday for a year-round weekly flight to St. Maarten.
The agreement is seen as a major step in St. Maarten’s efforts to establish itself as a year-round tourism destination.
While Richardson and Tourist Bureau head Regina Labega were hoping for a twice-weekly flight, the commissioner said he was still ecstatic about the additional airlift. He also noted that the seasonal charter flight would continue.
The agreement means that St. Maarten will have two flights out of Brazil in the high season and one in the off season. The GOL flight will be via Bogotá, Colombia, to St. Maarten.
The end of March 2010 has been tentatively identified as the start date of the new service using a 737 or 767 aircraft. Should the weekly flight prove successful for GOL and the destination, Richardson will meet with GOL executives again in an effort to add a second weekly flight.
GOL will be seeking assistance from St. Maarten in marketing the flight aggressively to ensure its success. When airlines start servicing an island, Richardson explained, they tend to want to feel secure that the destination will do its share towards the success of the service.
Four major Brazilian wholesalers (travel agent firms and tourism-related companies) are now on board to strengthen promotions and representatives of Sonesta Maho Group have shown their commitment by also being present in Brazil to help secure the flight for St. Maarten. Richardson is expected to call on the private sector to do its part on his return to the island.
His week-long itinerary consisted of the launching of St. Maarten’s new branding strategy in Brazil, which he said had been “very impressive to the Brazilians,” meeting with Brazil’s largest tour operator CVC, and a series of other meetings, including those with GOL.
Source : Daily Herald
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St. Maarten as a destination received more positive news on Monday when WestJet announced it would be expanding its seasonal service to St. Maarten to year-round.
WestJet’s inaugural flight touched down at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) in November 2009 with 116 passengers on board. The airline currently flies non-stop between Toronto and St. Maarten three times a week and will continue at this rate until April 29. Flying time on each leg is about 4½ hours.
With the expansion of the service to year-round, WestJet will service St. Maarten once a week, on Sundays, with additional calls during the high season.
“We are pleased with the number of guests using the South-bound service and the North-bound service. It is a mixture of leisure and business travellers, as well as guests visiting friends and family in Canada and on the island. There is a large Caribbean population in the Greater Toronto area, and we know they appreciate the opportunity to return home from time to time via WestJet,” said WestJet Manager of Public Relations Robert Palmer.
He added that WestJet was happy with the service at PJIA, and “everything is coming together nicely. On a personal note, I was fortunate enough to be on our inaugural flight to St. Maarten in November and without a doubt it is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely on my list of places to return to,” Palmer said.
“This is a strategic expansion of new routes within our network, and an extension of flight offerings to some of our key winter routes that remain popular destinations through the summer season,” said Executive Vice-President of Strategy and Planning Hugh Dunleavy.
“This schedule also demonstrates our strong commitment to take Canadians where they want to go, when they want to go. Now our guests will have the opportunity to visit more of their favourite destinations on a year-round basis.”
WestJet Vacations has become a trusted and preferred travel provider for Canadian vacationers since its launch in 2006. Canada is St. Maarten’s second-largest source market.
Commissioner in charge of Aviation Frans Richardson lauded in November the economic spin-off the new service would have for St. Maarten in all tourism-related sectors. He said preliminary figures indicated that the WestJet service could account for US $5.5 million for the island coffers from November 2009 to April 2010.
He also assured WestJet executives that the airline could count on commitment from his office and the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau in making the business relationship between the airline and the destination a resounding success.
Source : Daily Herald
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