PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams says a public-private sector plan of approach was formulated during a meeting held at the Government Administration Building on Monday to deal with the anticipated closure of Simpson Bay Resort and Marina and the Villas at Simpson Bay Resort and Marina, as of Sunday, February 20.
The Prime Minister called the meeting.
Both private sector organisations present ? St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) and St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) ? commended the Prime Minister for calling together a "crisis team" to assess and mitigate the effects of the resort's impending closure, as the announced closure would impact gravely those depending on the resort for a livelihood, the resort's timeshare owners and the timeshare industry in general.
According to a GIS press release, every effort will be made for government-appointed mediators to bring the union and the resort owner back to the negotiating table, as it is believed that an agreement regarding employment at the resort will go a long way in resolving the other issues that led to the announced closure of Pelican Resort.
SHTA and SMTA will continue their efforts to offer alternative accommodations to those Pelican members directly and immediately affected by the closure of their timeshare resort. This gesture by the two organisations is deeply appreciated, especially at this peak time in our tourism season, the prime minister pointed out.
SMTA is also communicating with Pelican timeshare owners to provide information, as far as this is available. Both tourism organisations will also solicit, via their membership, "add-ons" for timeshare guests who will be impacted by the closure of the resort, such as restaurant services, other tourist activities and car rentals.
Government, while acknowledging the more long-term nature of such, committed to picking up again draft timeshare legislation that could mitigate in the future the fall-out currently being experienced due to the Pelican situation.
Government will issue a direct statement to affected timeshare owners, possibly through SMTA, expressing government's resolve to seek solutions to avert Pelican Resort's closure, or in any case to have the resort re-opened in the shortest time possible.
Attending the meeting on behalf of government were Ministry of Economics, Tourism, Transport and Telecommunications Acting Secretary General Miguel De Weever, Labour Department Section Policy Head Raphael Boasman, Legislation Department Head Henkjan Habermehl, Cabinet of the Prime Minister policy support person Emilia Thomas and Ramona Thomas.
Representing SHTA was Valya Pantophlet. SMTA was represented by Ricardo Perez, Mayra Provance and Jim Rosen.
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