SXMElections.com

POND ISLAND – The New York Times (NYT) Travel section featured “52 Places to Go in 2018,” as part of a starter kit for escaping into the world, and the Caribbean came in as number four under the banner, “Tourism speeds recovery in a storm-battered part of the world.”

Destination Sint Maarten’s newest tourist attraction was mentioned under the Caribbean, “The new St. Maarten Rockland Estate Eco-Park Rainforest Adventures’ new Rockland Estate Park introduced a zipline to Saint Maarten.”  The section was written by Elaine Glusac.

Acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation & Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Cornelius de Weever said this publicity was very good for the destination as the country continues to recover from the damage caused by the September 2017 hurricanes.

“We are very pleased that one of our newest attractions which recently opened was mentioned in this prestigious and credible U.S. news source which is read by millions of Americans on the U.S. Eastern seaboard where the majority of Americans who visit the destination comes from.

“As a destination in the recovery phase, but is open for business, we now have the opportunity to build back better our tourism and hospitality infrastructure, and also introduce new attractions for our visitors. 

“Now is the time for entrepreneurs to be innovative and invest in our product as Sint Maarten is rediscovered by our guests in the coming months as a number of resorts come back online,” Minister De Weever said on Sunday.

The NYT has been in existence for more than 162 years and has more than 3.2 million paid print and digital subscribers.  The paper was founded in the early 1800s.

The NYT has been awarded 122 Pulitzer Prizes (PP) and citations, more than any other news organization.  The Pulitzer Prizes, are awarded each year by Colombia University, and the PP is universally regarded as the most prestigious in American journalism.

PHOTO CUTLINE: Acting Minister of TEATT Cornelius de Weever.