PHILIPSBURG:---St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry (COCI) Executive Director Anastacio Baker on Tuesday said that in connection with the COCI’s 40thanniversary marking its establishment forty years ago this week, the Chamber is continuously looking at improving its services towards the business community. As of March 13, COCI will introduce a new service called, COCI 2U. This service entails COCI going to the business establishment after a request has been made for an excerpt and delivering aforementioned document and at the same time picking up of annual fees due, among other Chamber to Business related matters. The process entails the customer contacting COCI either by telephone, fax, email or via Facebook with their request. COCI will then proceed to prepare the document (s) requested and deliver them to the customer. Payment could be made by cash, check or credit card, and a receipt of payment will be provided to the customer on the spot by the COCI representative. “This service is being introduced due to the traffic congestion on the public roads and the lack of parking in the Philipsburg area. With these daily challenges, the Chamber is well cognizant of these and therefore seeks ways and means to make it easier for the business community to be able to utilize the services offered by COCI.“The business owner or manager does not have to leave the establishment and get bogged down in traffic or finding parking. It’s fast and simple, COCI 2U” Baker said on Tuesday. The Simpson Bay Public Center is also a venue that businesses can make use of in requesting documents and making their annual fee payment. COCI in connection with its 40thanniversary has decided to waive outstanding dues before 2014, only if a company owes for the period 2015-2019, that they pay for that period in order to be current. This special promotion is valid for a four-month period and will end on June 31, 2019.COCI also plans within short to select a business owner to travel to SeatradeCruiseGlobal conference and expo next month in Miami, Florida as part of the 40thanniversary celebrations.SeatradeCruiseGlobal is considered the cruise industry’s most significant worldwide event which will take place from April 8-11 at the Miami Beach Convention Center bringing together approximately 11,000 professionals.“The cruise industry is pivotal to the economic development of the country. We have clearly experienced for ourselves the fundamental role played by Port St. Maarten right after the passing of Irma in September 2017. “The port and stakeholders worked with the cruise industry to get the destination ready for the first cruise ship visit and this was accomplished three-months in the aftermath of Irma. Since then, the destination has grown to where we received in 2018 close to 1.6 million cruise passengers within 13-months.“COCI would like to give the opportunity to a local business to promote its services and products to the cruise industry. At the same time, this business gets the exposure and experience of being at an international conference/expo which further leads to innovation and expansion opportunities. We are here to facilitate the business sector which in turn benefits the economy of the country,” COCI Executive Director Anastacio Baker said on Tuesday. Additional information with respect to this will be released next week.
