PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago:--- Jesse Peterson, Treasurer of St. Maarten Marine Trade Association, recently attended a expert group meeting on yachting and marina services in the Caribbean.
The meeting was held at the sub-regional headquarters for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Marine Industry experts and representatives from all over the Caribbean attended the meeting to discuss the complexities of promoting yachting and marinas in the Caribbean.
As of 2011, the Caribbean region currently had 140 marinas, spread across 25 countries and territories, which together offer roughly 7,340 berths (Authors estimate, 2013). St. Maarten's Marine Industry provides 16% of the total economy on St. Maarten according to a survey completed by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2009. It is vital that the industry is recognized and developed as a source of future employment for the island.
Jesse Peterson is the manager of Yacht Club Port De Plaisance where he has worked for 7 years after attending MPC and furthering his studies in the Netherlands.
SMMTA Press Release