PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB) will be launching its Tourism Awareness Codes of Conduct Program during the second half of 2019 with the objective of heightening awareness on the importance of tourism within the community.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunication (TEATT) the Honourable Stuart Johnson, said on Thursday, “The Tourism Awareness Program and Code of Conduct Program are essential tools to sensitize and engage the service sector, students and the general population on the importance of tourism for the socio-economic development of our country.”
He said, “As the country continues to recover, both programs are an opportunity at this stage in our national recovery to project a positive image of our country to our guests and beyond. They are vehicles for individual and collective fulfilment.”
St. Maarten Tourism Bureau Director May-Ling Chun on Thursday said the two programs project responsible and sustainable tourism and profiling the tourism industry’s contribution to the quality of life and highlighting the sector’s benefits while minimizing potentially negative impacts on the environment.
The Tourism Awareness Program (TAP) includes In-school presentations to both primary and secondary schools. A representative of STB along with a representative from the hospitality industry will be conducting the presentations at the aforementioned schools.
TAPs objective is to sensitize students to have a better understanding of the tourism industry and to promote the many career opportunities that exist.
A tourism awareness televised mini web series is the first educational show to be launched by STB to educate the local community about the importance and benefits that tourism brings to the economy.
It will also enhance students understanding of the important role they play in the tourism sector and promoting sustainable tourism.
STB will be relaunching Codes of Conduct - Keep it Clean, Keep It Blue Campaign. Back in 2011, STB collaborated with the Nature Foundation, EPIC, Love the Lagoon and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), to erect redesigned environmental awareness signs on several of the country’s beaches as part of the Codes of Conduct and the Blue Flag Program.
The aim of the campaign is to help heighten the awareness of the local population to the importance of keeping our environment clean.
The new redesigned signs are more reader friendly compared to the former signs, which will include pictograms to demonstrate the Code of Conduct for beach goers to respect when visiting the beach.
STB would like to call on the public for their collaboration to adhere to the rules regarding the public use of the country’s beaches.
