Oranjestad, St. Eustatius – Deputy Government Commissioner Ms. Alida Francis met with Hoteliers, dive center representatives and the local Tourism Office on Thursday March 18^th to discuss pertinent matters that relate to the tourism industry, including the Covid-19 pandemic whose negative effect on tourism has reverberated worldwide.  The new variants that are being discovered continue to pose a threat therefore, Commissioner Francis stressed the importance of everyone getting vaccinated, especially in anticipation of the much-needed resumption of travel looming on the horizon.

It was agreed that being organized, creating a well-thought-out plan and working together to bring that plan to fruition was important. Stakeholders were encouraged to share their vision for the future of the island’s tourism with the Deputy Commissioner and Statia Tourism’s office, because when there is collaboration between people with one vision, more benefits can be derived by everyone. Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the industry, resulting in emotional and financial losses for many and Statia was not untouched by this. Commissioner Francis acknowledged that “during this pandemic our dive shops are the ones that have suffered the most as divers are not traveling,” but travel will resume and when it does, Statia must be ready.

Commissioner Francis encouraged people to not wait to remind potential travellers about Statia, but that individual promotions can start right now. #StatiaAwaits. As Minke from Orange Bay hotel pointed out, social media can be very helpful to generate new interest and awaken old ones, and with many people having social media accounts, it is easy to use that medium to spread the word about Statia. While some of the meeting attendees espoused the effectiveness of social media, others felt that Statia has a great product and what is needed right now is Public Relation representation in the US and Europe, with the emphasis being placed more on sales than marketing, post-Covid. From the healthy discussions came the conclusion that the future of Statia’s tourism product can be bright if everyone works together. 

Before the meeting ended, it was again reiterated how important it is to let travellers know that while they were away, Statia was thinking of them. Infrastructure was upgraded, so too were the roads and the airport building in anticipation of their return.

It was a productive meeting and Commissioner Francis looks forward to future discussions as the tourism office and industry stake-holders collectively plan the way forward for an improved Destination Statia, post-pandemic.

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