Who is prepared to clock in overtime to improve the economy of St. Maarten?

WHO IS PREPARED TO CLOCK IN OVERTIME TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMY OF ST. MAARTEN?

By Terrance Rey

Jacob Gelt Dekker wrote an interesting column about what Curacao needed to improve its economy immediately. Contrary to Curacao, eventhough both islands share a joint central bank, St. Maarten does not have much export products that can generate foreign currency revenues – dollars, euro’s, francs, yens, yuans, etc. – because all we have basically is sea, sun and sand and that has generated enough tourism dollars over the years to sustain our island’s one pillar economy.

But what about the future? How can we enhance our tourism economy to make it sustainable and give it longevity? The Today newspaper has been featuring some small business entrepreneurs on St. Maarten that make their own little contributions in stimulating our island’s economy, like the gentleman that makes his own cigars and sell them at the cruise terminal. We need more of that, no matter how small.

Even the internet offers us a lot of great opportunities to generate a positive cash influx of foreign currency into the island’s economy. Especially for the young people, the internet and ecommerce can offer them great opportunities, not only for stimulating the island’s economy and alleviating its job market, but also offer young people themselves great opportunities to become rich as well. I read about a young kid in England, 14 years old, who developed an app that made him the youngest self-made millionaire ever.

Why can’t a young kid right here in St. Maarten do that as well? What’s to hold them back from doing the same? All that is required is ingenuity, creativity and lots of perspiration, meaning lots of hard work. I say hard work because I don’t want them to think that it will be easy. Other people make it look easy, but it isn’t really. You’ve got to clock in the hours. Who is prepared to clock in the hours?

Who is prepared to clock in overtime to stimulate St. Maarten’s economy with new products and services that can be ‘exported’ and used to generate a nett inflow of foreign currency into the island’s economy? Remember, this is the kind of overtime where you don’t get 50% or 100% overtime pay, but you get 100000% or more in income if you do a great job. I am quite sure there is an app that can do that. So I ask again: WHO IS PREPARED TO CLOCK IN OVERTIME TO IMPROVE ST. MAARTEN’S ECONOMY?

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Terrance Rey is owner and operator of AirStMaarten, Caribbean’s first virtual airline based in St. Maarten; organizing and coordinating commercial flights, shared charters and private charters to and from St. Maarten, St. Barths, Anguilla, Antigua, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao and throughout the rest of the Caribbean.