Is St. Maarten’s engine set for overdrive?

Is St. Maarten’s Engine Set For Overdrive?

Talking to businesspersons in St. Maarten you initially get the complaint mode that most of everything is bad. But delve a little deeper and you will uncover a complex explanation that leaves any newcomers wondering what makes St. Maarten the place “to be”.

The majority of the country’s well oiled businesses are making money and this can be attributed to the fact that there is a sense of global recovery. This year’s “slow season” is being described as better than last year’s…a good sign for the layman trying to gauge if St. Maarten is in recovery mode.

This “good sign” brings high hopes for the people of St. Maarten even as speculations swirl and a congregation of businesspersons debate the impact the American government shutdown and the debacle over the raising of the US debt ceiling.

As the Friendly Island’s economic engine picks up pace and speeds into our “high season” optimism is high; mainly due to the fact that most of our visitors have already booked their vacations.

Government has finally passed a workable budget adding another layer of good spenders to strengthen economic growth. This development is making savvy political observers breathe a lot easier with the knowledge that by averting possible austerity measures, which was more than likely if the Dutch were forced to balance St. Maarten’s budget, the country is continuing to climb the “growth hill”. And of course now this means that money should be available.

So as we meander into the coming New Year our next big challenge is passing that long overdue 2014 budget.