Travellers rate island as
Best Caribbean travel spot
~Named number three in the world~
PHILIPSBURG--Despite complaints about the traffic congestion and fast-paced development, St. Maarten was rated the number three traveller’s choice destination in the world by TripAdvisor. The island also holds the number one spot for preferred destination in the Caribbean.
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel information site and community on the internet, hosts more than 15 million travel reviews and opinions and nearly 30 million unique visitors a month. The winners were chosen by a combination of TripAdvisor travellers’ favourite places and overall popularity on the site.
Taking the top spot was Milford Sound, New Zealand, followed by Queenstown, New Zealand, Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Cayo Largo, Cuba; Rhodes, Greece; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Cruz Bay, St. John; Bridgetown, Barbados; Banff, Canada and Lake Tahoe, California.
An elated Tourism Commissioner Roy Marlin said, “This is great news for us. It is a tribute to the hard work, dedication and commitment of those working in the tourism sector, and in particular of the frontline employees who come into direct contact with the visitors on a daily basis. They are responsible for St. Maarten being known as the Friendly Island.”
More than rating above Caribbean destinations such as Barbados and St. John with more marketing presence and money to spend on exposure, the fact that the recognition comes from seasoned travellers is “very gratifying,” Marlin said.
The recognition is an endorsement of the island’s beauty and unique experience offered to travellers as well as an improved level of service and visitor attractions.
TripAdvisor covers more than 212,000 hotels and 74,000 attractions in over 30,000 destinations around the world. This week, 18,110,543 travellers from 190 countries planned trips using the website.
Tourism stakeholders hope that the exposure on this site will help boost the island’s image significantly as a quality destination and a year-round choice, a goal that is being worked on vigorously.
The recognition from actual travellers heartens tourism officials after the harsh rating received in the National Geographic Traveler’s Destination Scorecard late last year. Reviewed by 522 experts in the field of development, environment, tourism and other disciplines, the island was tagged as “in serious trouble” from over-development and loss of charm.
