Weather May 12, 2008
May 12, 2008
May 12, 2008 Today: Sunny and artly cloudy with scattered shower possible and still some haziness. High 86F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tonight: Variable clouds with a chance of a shower very early in the morning. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tomorrow:Mostly sunny and some clouds with the chance of a shower developing in the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tomorrow night:Partly cloudy. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday: Increasingly cloudy, chance of showers in late afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
Wednesday:Scattered showers. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
Special Features: No Special Features
Cruise Schedule May 12 - 18, 2008
May 12, 2008
Week May 12 - May 18, 2008
The below schedules may alter based on Sea conditions and advisories.
Monday May 12
- No Cruise Ships in port
Tuesday May 13
- Liberty o/t Seas
Wednesday May 14
- Carnival Glory
Thursday May 15
- Carnival Victory
- Mariner o/t Seas
Friday May 16
- Adventure o/t Seas
Saturday May 17
- No Cruise Ships in Port
Sunday May 18
- No Cruise Ships in Port
Events Week May 12 - May 18, 2008
May 12, 2008
Week May 12 - May 18, 2008
The Fête du Nautisme (May 12 - May 22) or Nautical festival is kicking off today Monday May 12 in Marigot, Saint Martin organized by L’Association Metimer.
Monday May 12
- Fête du Nautisme
- L’Association Metimer
- Pentecost Monday (Official holiday on Saint Martin and St. Maarten)
May 14 - 15
- Captain Oliver’s & Carib Beer Regatta
- : wide range of monohulls & multihulls sail around the island
- Organized by Captain Oliver’s Marina and hotel
Thursday May 15
- Fête de Saint-Louis
- most popular traditional and cultural games, music local and cuisine
- Organized by L’Association des Femmes de St. Louis
- Location: St. Louis
Sunday May 18
- Road Runners Lagoon Half Marathon
- Contact Rose Bernard (rosebernard@caribserve.net)
- Organized by RoadRunners
Special look ahead: SMART, the annual Regional Tourism convention
May 20 - 22
- SMART, Annual Trade and Tourism convention
- Organizer: SHTA (St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association)
- Contact Robert Dubourcq (rdubourcq@shta.com)
- Location: Sonesta Maho Convention Centre
Weather May 11, 2008
May 11, 2008
May 11, 2008 Today: Sunny but slightly hazy skies with further clearing during the day. High near 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tonight: Clear to partly cloudy skies with a very small shower possible. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 10%
Tomorrow:Mostly sunny and some clouds with the chance of a shower developing in the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tomorrow night:Partly cloudy. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday: Increasingly cloudy, chance of showers in late afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
Wednesday:Scattered showers. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
Special Features: No Special Features
Weather May 10, 2008
May 10, 2008
May 10, 2008 Today: Sunny and variable cloudiness and still hazy skies with a possible shower later in the day. High near 85F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tonight: Partly to mostly cloudy skies with a few showers possible. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tomorrow:Partly cloudy and sunny skies with haziness slowly disappearing and a possible scattered shower. High 86F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tomorrow night:A few clouds. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph./p>
Monday: Increasingly cloudy, chance of showers in late afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
monday:Scattered showers. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
Special Features: No Special Features
Friday’s Lodge Podge
May 9, 2008
As Market Growth is out the Window, Tourism now starts eating its own.
The fight for an increasing share of a decreasing market is on. What used to be a normal comparison, one travel package against another is now a weapon in the fight for survival, as was to be expected.
The Co-operative Travel, which is the UK’s largest independent holiday retailer, claims that all-inclusive cruise holidays can be extremely “cost-effective” and there are still plenty of good deals to be had with cruises. “Often…an all-inclusive package…can be very cost-effective - particularly for families,” said Trevor Davis of The Co-operative Travel, adding that there is a misconception that these types of breaks are for those with a lot of money to spend.
He continued: “I think when you consider the combination of things in terms of you not having to pay extra for the facilities that are there … you’re getting a very good fixed-price holiday for your money. I think that appeals at the moment.”-meaning as we are in a recession. Mr. Davis was pleased to announce that in April this year, The Co-operative Travel reported that cruise holiday bookings from families has increased by 31 per cent, on account of this type of vacationing
My observation here is that Caribbean Islands with cruise port facilities will see less onshore spending form cruise ship passengers, a phenomenon that is already displayed by the growing number of All-Inclusive Resorts. This is the first step of toning down vacation spending. The next step is Vacation optioning and the 3rd step is Vacationing out the window.
Some more exciting news from the travel front.
Now that we’re looking at rapidly rising airplane tickets, a slough of additional charges, major misery at airport security counters, what else can make me feel better about getting on an airplane?
Well, certainly not this American Airlines pilot.
The Federal Aviation Administration has asked American Airlines for a report on a flight that flew from Dallas/Fort Worth to Paris on April 20 after a panel on the plane’s underbelly fell during takeoff, according to an Associated Press report.
The 3-by-6-foot panel, which was covering one of the airplane’s two air conditioners, reportedly fell off during its ascent. A flight attendant onboard said it “sounded like an explosion,” according to an e-mail sent to Dallas television station WFAA.
According to a pilot memo obtained by AP, the crew kept going because cockpit instruments did not indicate that anything was wrong. The memo also indicated that passengers were never in danger.
An unnamed source at the airline told AP that three hours into the flight, the pilot heard no additional noises and found that fuel was burning at a normal rate. The pilot thought the noise might have been caused by a shift in the cargo hold, according to the source, so the pilot proceeded to cross the Atlantic.
My Comment: Wow, in my book that’s Ignorance playing with my life.
Last but not least for today:
I applaud the Jamaican Government for saying “enuff is enuff”.
They are (finally) going to unload the debt-ridden national carrier Air Jamaica.
State-owned Air Jamaica will go private, as the government of Jamaica announced plans to divest itself of all financial holdings in the debt-ridden airline by March 2009.
A grant of $820,000 from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency will be used to assist with technical services and aid in the privatization process, according to Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s minister of finance and public service. Further, an $825,000 grant from the International Finance Corp. enabled the Jamaican government to hire aviation consulting and advisory firm GRA Inc.
GRA will submit a report in mid-May to the government, addressing short-term fixes to improve operations, reorganize the company and provide management support during the privatization effort.
In the end, the divestment announcement came as no surprise. Prime Minister Bruce Golding had publicly identified the troubled carrier as a “drag on our national budget.”
Golding said that Air Jamaica has lost an average of $100 million per year since 2004, when the government took over the carrier following a 10-year period of partial privatization during which the government held 25% of the airline, employees held 5% and investors had control of the rest.
The government seeks to transfer ownership and full management control of Air Jamaica to the private sector but has specified that Air Jamaica be structurally or contractually linked to an experienced global carrier to help steer to economic viability.
“We are emotional about Air Jamaica but it still takes cash to care,” said Shaw. “In the end, it came down to whether we as a government allowed the airline to continue to hemorrhage and eventually close, or took strong action now to save the airline and make it a viable entity for the country.”
The Air Jamaica brand, considered a national symbol by many Jamaicans, will likely be retained, according to Shaw.
Question from afar: How are our national carriers doing? Winair still connecting the West Indies and who is now flying the Curacao route?
Weather May 09, 2008
May 9, 2008
May 09, 2008 Today: Sunny but hazy skies with a possible shower later in the day. High 86F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tonight: Partly cloudy skies with a scattered shower possible later during the night. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%
Tomorrow:Continued haziness changing to cloudy skies in the afternoon. High 86F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Tomorrow night:Partly to mostly cloudy with a scattered shower possible. Low 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%./p>
Sunday: Increasingly cloudy, chance of showers in late afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
monday:Scattered showers. Highs in the mid 80s and lows in the upper 70s.
Special Features: No Special Features
Expert says: US economic slowdown not necessarily all bad for Caribbean
May 8, 2008
“Although faced with sky-rocketing oil prices, economic downturn and worries over food prices, it may not have the impact of “a silent Tsunami” on Caribbean tourism seeing the emerging markets with money to spend and US travelers expected to seek closer to home relaxation,” according to Jan Freitag from Smith Travel Research Vice President at the 12th annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference.
This very unfounded and unscientific statement may hold some truth for those who like to believe in fairytales, but realism must start kicking in and the Caribbean better step up the efforts in sending messages to the “traditional markets” (since they still represent more than 70% of the total tourism volume to the Caribbean) as to why the Caribbean is still an attractive vacation destination … else, that statement will just be a lullebey for those responsible for tourism promotion.
Jan Freitag is trying to use common reasoning however does not include the following factors:
- Food prices in the Caribbean will equally sky-rocket
- Energy prices and energy consumption will sky-rocket
- Only those Caribbean islands that have a “Pegged Dollar economy” will benefit from “the Buck is still a Buck”. Good example is the Dual Island Nation of St. Maarten/ Saint Martin. The Dutch side is a “Pegged Dollar Economy” while the French Side is a Euro Economy.
- Rising labor costs (one of the most anticipated Global effects) will make every destination in the Caribbean more expensive than it is today
- The economic impact on the European Union, seen by Mr. Freitag, as the “salvation and emerging markets” is reporting that a whopping 16% of the population will “drop” below the poverty line within the next three months
- And last but most important, when the door to Cuba fully opens for US travelers, Cuba is ”dirt cheap” compared to other destinations since labor costs will not reach the same levels of other tourism destinations in the Caribbean within a short time span and Cuba is a “hop scotch” from Miami.
It is rather dangerous to listen to these “coveted” experts (Jan Freitag and KPMG Corporate Finance Partner Simon Townsend) since the message that was conveyed triggers complacency which is not something the Caribbean as a tourism destination can afford.
Arab, American and German tourists are big spenders
May 8, 2008
ETurboNews reported today that a study published in Travel & Hotel Management Magazine suggests that German and Arab tourists tend to spend significant sums while Russian, British and Spanish tourists tend to spend less.
The study reveals that tourists from North America, Germany and Arab countries do a lot of shopping and thus spend a lot whereas tourists from Britain, Russia, Spain and Israel spend comparatively less.
According to the study, North American tourists prefer to stay at five-star hotels and like to shop during their holidays. They buy higher priced items like carpets and tend to tip shop owners and restaurant staff.
Tourists from Canada and Australia also like to shop, similar to tourists from the States, and tend to consume wine and higher priced liquors during their holidays.
The study revealed that German tourists also like high-priced items and tend to tip the people serving them.
Arab tourists, who are famous for their high-spending shopping habits, tend to purchase jewels.
Tourists from Britain, however, also like to stay at five-star hotels but tend to give lower tips. In addition they don’t do as much shopping and thus do not spend as much money.
The study also suggests that Russians and Spanish are among the stingier group that does not tip very much.
Warning: Beware of the U.S. Dollar’s “Strengthening” Rally
May 8, 2008
I’m a little late this morning submitting my contribution to this blog because I had to work through a bunch of headshaking information that came from the financial markets. Why is this of any importance to a travel search site? Because the little island of St.Maarten/St.Martin is uniquely qualified to the world’s 2 major currencies: the Euro and the US dollar (the fixed pegging instrument for the Antillean Guilder). I cannot recall any place in the world where shifts and changes between these 2 currencies are so evident and with impact on everyday life. So beware, that the bankers (including the Federal Reserve) are playing headgames ith us.
Don’t mistake the U.S. dollar’s recent rally for strength. If anything, it’s a head fake of legendary proportions. In fact, the dollar’s recent run-up is actually a warning that risks are escalating, which is secretly confirmed by the fact that interest rates the banks charge each other is rising (check out LIBOR on wikipedia). They simply don’t trust eachother’s balance sheets any longer! The US dollar is rallying on escalating risk, nothing else.
To better understand what I mean here, let’s look at the greenback’s recent performance against the euro. After bottoming at an all-time low of $1.6019 versus the euro on April 22, the dollar has soared nearly 4% and was trading at $1.5428 per euro early yesterday (Wednesday May 7).
Now many of the Wall Street types expect that rally to continue. Just yesterday, UBS AG (UBS) predicted the greenback would rise to $1.47 in three months. That would be a jump of 5.0% from where the dollar is trading now, and would represent a total rebound of about 8.0%.
I mention this forecast because UBS is the world’s second-biggest currency trader, meaning the Swiss banking giant’s projection is certain to get lots of airplay.
Here’s my advice on this forecast: Ignore it. It will never happen that AND GOLD AND OIL SHARPLY INCREASE, AND THE DOLLAR DOES TOO. IMPOSSIBLE.
They are playing headgames with us, while the zero % Interest Bait is Just Around the Corner.We are living in perilous financial and economic times. Yet very few people are even paying attention. All it takes to re-start an economy is to hand out cheap money…right?
As you likely know, the government has embarked on a major bailout course. So far, so bad. I think the boys at Buck’s-r-Us (Federal Reserve) have been hitting the peyote. Their motto is that everything can be patched up by simply issuing more tonnages of green paper, called dollars.
In comparison, it wasn’t too long ago that Japan’s bubble burst from their 1980’s excesses. Remember when fear was rampant that the rich Japanese were going to buy up the world? Remember when their real estate was chokingly overpriced? Quite predictably, the Bank of Japan responded to the bust by lowering interest rates in the early 1990’s. Much of this decade they have held the interest rate at 0%!!
Deflation tends to scare the fully loaded crap out of central planners. Even negative interest rates are possible. The motto is “please borrow and spend!” Otherwise, the whole system gets flushed.
This didn’t sit too well with traditional Japanese. They are thrifty savers. They tend to function just fine without Suburbans, spa treatments and vacation homes. You can make cheap or free money available but someone has to accept the loan. The Japanese didn’t take the bait.
A two-decade long deflation was the result. The Bank of Japan was completely impotent in their attempts to re-inflate and get the Japanese economy back on track.
And now it’s the US’s turn to stave off deflation. Sequential bubbles of tech stocks in 2001 and real estate currently have seriously damaged the economy. By the way, the Fed caused these bubbles in the first place. They are now attempting to create a new credit expansion. After all they are a one trick pony. There are no dollar rescuing rate increases in sight.
US interest rates are now trending towards zippo. Is a 0% Fed Funds rate in the cards? I wouldn’t rule it out. Speculators are frothing at the mouth in anticipation of free funding.
Low interest rates are not what wring out excesses. Low interest rates are designed to keep the Wall Street financial orgy going. Party on!
Will Americans take the low interest rate bait?
“Oh, hell yes, Baby, bring em on! You talkin’ free money? That’s a good thang, no?”
The US culture is saturated with the motive of instant gratification. Don’t expect many to turn up their noses at the Fed’s desperate offers. We will borrow and we will spend. There will be no lost decades around here. In fact, I predict that a major trend will take place in the US real estate market in the coming decade. The reverse mortgage phenomenon will become a craze. My fellow Baby Boomers will try to time their last breaths with their last home dividends. Is Doc Kervorkian still in business to make sure there is no discrepancy here? Buy now, pay later. What a concept! As an economist I crinch, as an ardent reader of Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain I would say: Let’s party, because that seems to be the only good explanation why we walk around on this earth.
