~ Thanks to high July cruise arrivals ~
POINTE BLANCHE--St. Maarten reached and surpassed its millionth passenger for the year in July, the earliest this milestone has been clocked in the ten consecutive years the country has hosted a million or more passengers.
The total cruise passenger arrival number for this year stood at 1,047,134 as of July 31. This year's projected cruise arrivals are tagged at 1,463,873 cruise passengers. This number could increase based on additional cruise calls or decrease due to cancellations due to weather, as has happened already this week.
July with 18 cruise calls, one more than June, saw the arrival of 76,375 cruise passengers, an increase of 19,775 passengers over the month's projection of 55,611.
"The importance of each and every cruise call to the country cannot be underscored more than in the low season," St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies CEO Mark Mingo told The Daily Herald.
Despite the number of arrivals for July being lower than that of the same month in 2010, a 16.8 per cent decrease, the millionth passenger mark was reached a month earlier than last year.
"We continue to do our best to attract cruise lines and passengers to our shores. It's the demand for the destination from cruise passengers that plays a pivotal role in the ships continuing to visit our country," Mingo said. He encouraged merchants and tours to prepare for the upcoming high season with new and innovative offerings.
He concurred with the view of former Vice Chairman of the Harbour Group Supervisory Board Michel Hodge, who said in an interview with The Weekender published last week Saturday that St. Maarten had a high volume of repeat cruise visitors, warranting the need for more tours and adventures.
The August cruise arrival figure has already taken a hit with the cancellation of three scheduled calls this week because of the passing of Tropical Storm Emily. Today's calls of Carnival Dream and Oasis of the Seas were cancelled earlier in the week before it was known that Emily did not pose a threat to St. Maarten. The call of Freedom of the Seas for Thursday also was cancelled.
Serenade of the Seas was to be in port on Friday, but now will be here on Saturday together with Carnival Victory.
As the hurricane season continues, there are worries about the four-berth Cruise Pier I. An engineer's survey of the almost-12-year-old pier found that it had sustained damage from heavy swells and waves generated by hurricanes/tropical storms in the past years. The most recent of those was Hurricane Earl in September 2010.
The estimated cost to repair the pier is US $10 million. Financing is being sought so the work can be carried out in the 2012 low tourist season.
Steve Coogan Biffy Clyro United Kingdom Recession Skiing Local politics
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