PHILIPSBURG — Compared to 2023, cruise and stay-over arrivals increased in 2024 by 16.5 percent, according to data release by STAT, the department of statistics. Last year, 511,339 travelers arrived either by air or on a cruise ship, compared to 438,748 in 2023. This seems to be good news for the local tourism-related industries.

The month of September marks the bottom of the low season, even more so in 2024 than in the previous year. In 2023 there were 22,264 arrivals and in 2024 just 19,606, a dip of 11.9 percent.

On the other end of the scale December remains the month when St. Maarten receives the most visitors: 48,914 in 2023 and 80,729 in 2024, a spectacular increase of 65 percent. In terms of percentage, the increase in November was even stronger: 69 percent with 40,969 arrivals in 2023 and 69,219 in 2024.

In January and February arrivals increased with a steady 15 percent. January arrivals in 2023 were 45,312; a year later the island recorded 52,106 visitors. February received 42,641 visitors in 2023 and 49,047 a year later.

In just four out of the twelve months of the year – March, April, September and October – there were fewer visitors. The sharpest decline occurred in October with a decrease of 21.8 percent: from 27,673 to 21,632.

Not all visitors were foreigners. Among the 438,752 arrivals in 2023, there were 43,699 (10 percent) St Maarten residents. In 2024 there were 38,207 (7 percent) St. Maarteners among the recorded arrivals.

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Arrivals

By Hilbert Haar

The tourism industry is not just a game of numbers but you would not think so if you care to listen to the makers and shakers in this field. The increase of 16.5 percent in arrivals in 2024 seems to be good news for tourism-related businesses and up to a point that is probably true.

More visitors mean more activities in restaurants and for instance in the car rental and taxi businesses. But St Maarten’s tourism infrastructure is fragile. Our island has limited space and increasing the number of arrivals cannot continue forever without consequences.

Sure, we have nice beaches, a vibrant nightlife and a variety of restaurants. At the same time we only have one road network that can handle only that much traffic. And then there is the most vulnerable aspect of all: our nature.

One cannot claim in good conscience that we are treating our environment with the respect it deserves. The St Maarten Pride Foundation has been forever on an anti-litter campaign but the condition of our beaches remains a major headache – and nobody seems to care.

I have been living in Asia for the past six or seven years and I had a good look around. I spent time on Bali which is in many ways a lovely island. But the idea that this is the place that has some of the best beaches in the world is an illusion. Beaches in Bali are in a horrible condition and you do not want to be there. They are polluted and badly – or not at all – maintained.

The road infrastructure on Bali seems to be designed for life in the sixties of last century and it cannot handle the suffocating traffic it experiences during a 2024 high season.

To cut a long story short; that is not what you want for St. Maarten. We must realize that there is a limit to the number of tourists the island can handle. If we don’t, our tourism-industry is surely heading for the exit.

And then what?

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