TEATT Minister pushes tourism accountability, STA, rental taxes, stakeholder consultations

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten outlined key priorities aimed at strengthening accountability in tourism spending, modernizing sector governance, improving revenue collection from vacation rentals, and building a national economic roadmap through a broad stakeholder process.

Heyliger-Marten said tourism performance and resident benefit must be assessed using measurable indicators. She noted that the ministry relies on data such as hotel stay information, input from the industry group, and information associated with the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA). She also cited exit surveys as part of the data used to evaluate tourism outcomes. The Minister said the tourism budget allocation remains at 4 million guilders, stating that it is the same amount currently being maintained.

Heyliger-Marten said TEATT is moving toward the establishment of a St. Maarten Tourism Authority (STA) to strengthen structure, funding allocation, and performance tracking. She explained that the authority will first be established as a foundation and then be enshrined in law, estimating a timeline of six to eight months to realize it. The Minister said the STA is intended to support both short-term and long-term planning, including clearer mechanisms to allocate tourism-related funds and track the impact of those investments.

The Minister also addressed the need to regulate and tax vacation rentals more effectively, stating that St. Maarten has been losing revenue because rental platforms can operate without a full legal framework that triggers taxation of house rentals. She said she amended the law governing Airbnb and similar vacation rental activity to include housing and enable taxation, with the aim of ensuring the country captures revenue that has previously gone uncollected. She noted that tracking activity requires stronger systems and better information across platforms, referencing monitoring listings through social media and platforms such as booking.com. She added that the SHTA has a mechanism to trace activity and the Ministry of Finance has another mechanism, and said the goal is a more holistic view and “real data” across platforms.

As part of a broader push to align economic priorities and provide clearer direction, Heyliger-Marten also announced that TEATT will host a Strategic Economic Stakeholder Consultation next week, which she described as an economic forum under the theme “Forward by Design.” She said the consultation is intended to address St. Maarten’s current crossroads and chart a way forward through structured engagement with stakeholders. According to the Minister, the forum will cover multiple topics including tourism, telecommunications, digitization, artificial intelligence, fiscal reform, and wider economic development priorities, with both local participants and experts coming from abroad.

Heyliger-Marten said the objective is to develop a draft concept that sets out where St. Maarten wants to go economically and how the country can get there. She said once the draft is prepared, it will be reviewed with stakeholders for refinements, a process she expects will take a few months. The Minister said she wants the resulting roadmap to remain useful as a guiding framework for the country’s economic direction regardless of who holds office.

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