Before joining the sister island of Saint-Barth, the President of the Republic addressed in a press conference many subjects including that of the resumption of tourist activity in Saint-Martin, real economic engine of the island.
“We must strengthen the tourist attractiveness of Saint-Martin. This is, I know, President Gibbs' priority today; it is at the heart of its program and we have talked about it at length ”underlines Emmanuel Macron, before adding,“ tourism is an economic engine of the island; it draws all sectors of activity, whether transport, construction, personal services, distribution. This is why the State will mobilize by your side so that the 2018 tourist season is a tourist season in its own right. Reception capacities for the end of the year are estimated at 600 to 800 places and many restaurants have planned to reopen their establishments for the winter tourist season. There is therefore the possibility of welcoming tourists in a smaller way than before Irma but sufficiently significant so that this season can become a shared priority.
The State will provide exceptional support for this first post-Irma tourist season, firstly by a promotional relaunch of the hotel structures which are open and which will be supported by Atout France for the target audiences especially in the United States and Europe. Then, by a stimulus fund for small players in the economy that will be set up by the State to help artisans and traders to be ready. On the model of the Cohesia card, stimulus aid will be allocated in the order of 500 to 2.000 euros; 200 micro enterprises are targeted; allocation will be made on the basis of projects. A training plan will be set up with the opening in a few weeks of a BTS in the field of tourism professions, the first promotion of BTS was launched last year; its operation will be based on alternation. But more broadly, I asked that a tripartite operation - communities, State and living forces of Saint-Martin - be coordinated every two weeks by the delegated prefect, so that we can make concrete progress and meet the needs either through training. and the development of work-study programs and apprenticeships, either through solutions of territorial continuity to allow young and old alike to have opportunities in companies - I am thinking in particular of the hotel industry in Saint-Martin - and to have the training part in Guadeloupe while obviously having the possibility of moving.
We have funds that are intended for that; they must be mobilized and we must improve the collective organization on this point, it is a priority. The State also makes a long-term commitment to economic development in Saint-Martin; Saint-Martin will be affected by the overhaul of economic aid for overseas businesses, led by the Minister for Overseas. Companies will now benefit from exemptions from increased social charges; in Saint-Martin, this reform represents 6 points of reduction in social charges which will be fully exempt from January 1, 2019, i.e. around 12 million euros. The State will modify the rules for access to tax exemption for hotel equipment in order to include in law the criteria for responsible tax exemption; it is a question of guaranteeing over time the exploitation of hotel capacities assisted by the State. The operating period of hotels benefiting from tax exemption will therefore be reduced from 5 to 15 years with this liability requirement.
The State will facilitate tourist facilities which allow quality tourism; it will support the urban redevelopment project of downtown Marigot, in particular the enhancement of traditional Creole housing and the enhancement of shopping and craft streets ”. _AF
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