PHILIPSBURG:--- The Department of Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication (EVT) produces on a quarterly basis the MacroMonitor, which is a publication that gives an overview of the macro-economic developments of the country.
The MacroMonitor is now available on the Government website: www.sintmaartengov.org; go to tab "Government," scroll down to "Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications" link, go to "Department of Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications" and select the link "Economic Reports" and then select "MacroMonitor Year End 2012 Report" for download.
For 2013 economic growth is expected, but at a slower pace than in 2012. This assumption is based on a flat export growth for 2013, while imports are increasing. The current account as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to further deteriorate. However, the season is still young, thus the External sector can pick up. The Department of EVT will continue to monitor the developments of the various sectors and update the estimates during 2013 on a quarterly basis.
This 2012 year-end report highlights the development of the main key sectors of Sint Maarten's economy and the policies and projections of the various target markets of the international sector. Sectors include; International, External, Fiscal and the Monetary sector.
At production time of the 2012 year end MacroMonitor report, data on some indicators for the last quarter of 2012 were still unavailable. These included the banking totals and balance of payment figures.
Therefore, the figures presented in the report could slightly change based on realized figures. These indicators will give the possible trends for 2013.
A brief overview of the findings for 2012 includes; GDP growth projected at approximately four per cent. This growth is fueled by the exceptional performance in the External sector, namely; cruise arrivals with six per cent increase, stay-over with eight per cent increase and occupancy rate (of both timeshare and hotels combined), increasing by six per cent, when compared to 2011.
From the Fiscal sector, both revenues and expenditures increased five per cent and 18% respectively, when compared to 2011. With the proportion increase in expenditures more than revenues, this can have adverse effects on the deficit. However, the increase in expenditures through Government consumption, investment in infrastructure and wages, also contributed to the economic growth for 2012. In small economies increase in Government expenditures serves as an engine towards economic growth and at the same time lead to a decrease in foreign reserve stock.
In the Monetary sector, inflation was reduced to four per cent, down 0.6 per cent when compared to 2011. Major contributing factors were the easing inflation recorded in the expenditure categories of Housing and Transport and Communication, both locally and globally.
Analysis of the International sector presents a bright outlook for 2013. The selected economies of the various regions show signs of growth and recovery. Therefore, assuming that the spending power of these regions increase with the projected growth, there lies an opportunity for Sint Maarten to capitalize on attracting more tourist to the Island. This however, will depend on efficient marketing strategies by the Sint Maarten Tourism Bureau.
