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St. Maarten tops in ‘satisfaction’ rating
By The Daily Herald
Posted: Oct 29, 2009 00:37 UTC
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~ Ranks second in cruise spending ~
ST. LUCIA - It was good and not-so-good news for St. Maarten as a cruise destination this week. The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) revealed that while the island ranked number one in passenger satisfaction, it had fallen short in passenger spending.
The results of the 2009 Cruise Passenger and Crew Expenditure Survey were announced during the FCCA annual conference in St. Lucia. St. Maarten is represented by Harbour Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger, St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies CEO Mark Mingo and others.
St. Maarten is in second place to St. Thomas for both passenger and crew expenditure. St. Maarten had held steady as the number one and preferred crew spending destination for several years, but missed the mark this time around.
Crew members spend on average US $149.45 in St. Maarten while they shell out $152.58 in St. Thomas. The average crew spending in the Caribbean is $89.24.
Cruise passengers spend $147.98 in St. Maarten, but leave $193 in St. Thomas after shopping. The average passenger spending in the Caribbean is $97.26, according to the FCCA survey that was carried out when the world economy started to slide.
The last study was carried out in 2006 and listed St. Maarten as number one for crew expenditure at $159 and second for passenger spending at $145.
Crew and passengers are spending less in St. Maarten on items the island considers its trademarks for shoppers: electronics, jewellery and food.
Commissioner Heyliger said the results were not completely disheartening, but showed that aside from upgrading the infrastructure and making significant investments in Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities, the community and in particular merchants had to review their game plans to see where improvements were warranted.
Slipping from the top slot in crew spending is not a good sign, because passengers observe and seek advice from crew members about where to get the best deals on merchandise, he added.
The Harbour Group is exploring ways to boost spending onshore by passengers and crew, but merchants and other businesses must now add even more value and incentives to encourage spending, Heyliger said. “After all, the economy of St. Maarten depends on visitors’ spending. The more revenue they leave here the better for the destination, but we have to work a little harder to get them to spend.”
A good building block for recapturing the top spot is the high visitor satisfaction with the overall destination. “We have a good recovery point. Cruise passengers and crew love to visit our island, but now we have to examine where they have lost confidence in the products we offer them. Once we address this deficiency we have a chance again at the top spot,” Heyliger said.
St. Maarten has another plus on which to build. It is so far the only destination tipped to be ready for the new 220,000-tonne mega-cruise ship to be launched in December. There is much excitement and buzz about this behemoth and industry partners were given an update about St. Maarten’s progress.
The mega-ship Oasis of the Sea and several other cruise ships are set to add St. Maarten to their itineraries this season. Also, the island expects to play host to a record 1.5 million cruise passengers in 2010-2011 as a direct result of a change in marketing strategy for the Harbour Group. Marketing is focused on emerging trends and more one-on-one meetings with cruise executives and itinerary planners.
“More ships and passengers can come to our shore through effective marketing. However, after the ships arrive here and passengers disembark, everyone – business owners and residents – has to do what is best to put the best foot forward to ensure they have a memorable vacation and are enticed to spend more in St. Maarten than anywhere else,” Heyliger said.
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