St. Eustatius - Holiday Destination

Amazing video from one of our visitor - Vlada Vladic

A Glimpse of St. Eustatius - By Rob Helmink

Island in the sun

BOUYON ARTISTE ASA BANTON WILL PERFORM DURING EASTER-VAL ALONG WITH JAMMBOYZ BAND AND DJ SENSE

REBELS BAND HD TO PERFORM AT CARIBBEAN FLAG FEST ON ST. MAARTEN

Statia Carnival Tentative Program!

Couple ties the knot on Statia after visiting Mazinga on the Bay

From the Daily Herald March 7th, 2016

Newlyweds André Pickering and Cisne Pickering Benjamin together with three witnesses 

A couple, who travelled to St. Eustatius to attend the Women’s Day Conference and Gala that was held Friday and Saturday, decided to tie the knot on Statia. Public Relations Officer of the Tourism Office Teena Lopes was contacted and assisted bride Cisne Benjamin with all the arrangements at the Census Office, because the office is normally closed for business during the weekend. The newlyweds originate from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. 

Mazinga on the Bay!

Benjamin said that while walking on the streets of Lower Town and seeing the historical Mazinga on the Bay building, she decided that she wanted to get married and the ceremony had to be in that specific building. The restored 18th. century brick building is home to a gift shop and an apartment building. Benjamin contacted Mazinga’s owner Leontine Durby-Ten Have, who was happy to comply with Benjamin’s wishes. 

Mr. & Mrs. Pickering

The wedding ceremony of bride Benjamin and groom André Pickering was performed by Census Office of- ficials Dorothy van Zanten and Cheryl Dorset on Saturday, around 4:30pm. Road March winner Lady Shorteh was “da bomb” as she sang, “Because You Love Me.” Tears flowed freely during the ceremony when the couple embraced each other during this song. Conference delegates served as wedding witnesses, who were also seen shedding tears of joy.

Local entertainer Lady Shorteh along with other guests

NEW TRAVEL AGENCY OPEN'S ITS DOORS ON STATIA

BTNT Managers fro left Monique Martis and Ilka Schmidt. 

New travel agency Butterfly Tours N Travel (BTNT) opened its doors in St. Eustatius. BTNT offers customers travel to any desirable destination and serves even today’s most-sophisticated travelers with luxury guided tours and vacation packages around the world. “Persons can book tickets to any destination on board Insel Air, and many other carriers,” BTNT Manager Monique Martis said during the Women’s Day Conference and Gala, where she was the youngest entrepreneur on the panel. Martis said that while the Internet continues to prove that it is a valuable source of information, BTNT’s counsellors and trained professional tour directors are valued for their ability to personalize travel experiences. The travel agency is located in the FedEx office on Fort Oranjestraat, and is open workdays from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

OWNER AT LYN’S DREAM BAKERY INTRODUCES ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BAGS

Environmentally safe and friendly bags in various colors.

Owner of Lyn’s Dream Bakery Lynette Anson-Leerdam decided to take action against the pollution caused by plastic bags, and purchased environmentally-friendly bags, offering these to all her customers free of charge. Research has proven that plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to dissolve on earth, and their effects are harmful and cause hazards. “Even though plastic bags are one of the modern conveniences that we seem to be unable to do without, they are responsible for causing pollution, killing wildlife, and using up the precious resources of the earth,” Anson-Leerdam said. 

Lynnette Anson-Leerdam of Lyn’s Dream Bakery (right) handing out a re-usable bag to one of her customers, an officer of the Royal Dutch Marechaussee.

“I am sick and tired of these plastic bags, they are destroying our beautiful island. The environmentally-friendly bags you can re-use for many years, so we decided to make the change seeing that our business marks five years this year,” she added. Switching to environmentally-safe and -friendly bags was the first step for Lyn’s Dream Bakery. The company will also be implementing paper bags for their bread in the future. 

Lynnette Anson presenting at Women's Day Conference on Statia, March 4th, 2016

Anson-Leerdam spoke about her “ban” on plastic bags during the Women’s Day Conference and Gala, which is taking place Friday and today, Saturday, at Mike van Putten Youth Centre, and explained why she has stopped handing out plastic bags to customers. She said she walked on Zeelandia beach along the dumpsite and saw the mess caused by plastic bags, not only on land, but also to ocean wildlife. “Other islands and countries around the world have banned the use of plastic bags in stores, shops and restaurants. This might be something that islands within this region could also implement, seeing that the Caribbean is so tourism-dependent” said Director of Tourism Charles Lindo in a reaction.

WINAIR ELIMINATES FUEL CHARGES RESULTING IN LOWER FARES

AIRPORT ROAD - Effective March 01/16 all passengers travelling on WINAIR will benefit in lower ticket prices with the elimination of all fuel charges on flights operated by WINAIR.

With world fuel prices at record lows, WINAIR will eliminate fuel charges for passengers and cargo on WINAIR’s network.

WINAIR reduced fuel charges six months ago in accordance with lower fuel costs for the airline.

With current fuel prices, WINAIR will no longer be required to collect fuel surcharges to cover these additional costs. This will reduce costs for the airlines customers as they will no longer incur these additional costs.

NEW TRAVEL AGENCY ON STATIA

ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius (February, 29^th, 2016) -- Butterfly Tours N Travel (BTNT), a new travel agent provider on Statia announces the operation of their newly established business on the island. BTNT now offers customers the perfect chance to travel to any desirable destination and at low-priced costs.

“We currently run our operations on Oranjestraat at the FEDEX office, however, the location is expected to change within one month, said Ilka Schmidt, Manager BTNT.

BTNT is a recognized company that specializes in the art of travel. Also, the travel agency serves today’s most sophisticated travelers with luxury guided tours and vacation packages around the world.

“We make bookings with, Royal Caribbean cruise line, Carnival cruise, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Cruises, Pulman tour, Croissoir de France, just to name a few”, Said Monique Martis, Manager BTNT. “Persons can book tickets to any destination onboard Insel Air and many other carriers”, Monique added.

While the internet continues to prove it is a valuable resource, BTNT counselors, and trained professional tour directors are valued for their ability to personalize travel experiences. The organization is open daily from 8 Am until 5 PM.

A tourism campaign for locals on Statia

By Gay Nagle Myers

While it is not a big player by any means in terms of tourism numbers in the Caribbean region, tiny St. Eustatius, known affectionately as Statia, is determined to make its case heard.

The eight-square-mile Dutch island, with a population of approximately 4,000, is served by frequent 20-minute flights on Winair from St. Maarten.

A few thousand visitors visit each year to walk the few black-sand beaches, hike the mountain called the Quill, dine in the small restaurants in the capital of Oranjestad, explore dive sites and bed down in a handful of small inns and hotels.

The island is yet to be discovered by most travelers and while its size and infrastructure could never support mass tourism, the Statia Tourism Development Foundation has launched a campaign called “I am Tourism” to raise awareness among the local community about the importance of tourism, via a series of community meetings on the island.

Every month a different tourism topic is highlighted, and categories include sports, agro-tourism, voluntourism and heritage and community tourism.

The landscape of St. Eustatius, known also as Statia, is rocky, and its few beaches are black sand.

The campaign will run through mid-2016.

“The objective of the program is to create tourism awareness within the community to get citizens more tourism-minded and involved through activities and information,” said Charles Lindo, director of the foundation.

“The island is on the cutting edge of tourism development, and the government has recognized that tourism is one of the key economic pillars in the Caribbean," Lindo added. "As a Caribbean island, Statia deserves a slice of the tourism pie.”

http://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Insights/A-tourism-campaign-for-locals-on-Statia