St. Martin News Network - St. Maarten

The Caribbean just appointed a tourism director who never sleeps.

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

tourism26012026 PHILIPSBURG:--- Tourism is one of the world’s most competitive industries. Success depends on speed, clarity, and the ability to engage global audiences without pause. Tourism director Aurelia Solano is always present. Always welcoming. Always ready to inspire the world to visit. She is always on duty, greeting travelers at midnight, briefing journalists at dawn, and inspiring dreamers in every time zone. She speaks every language, remembers every detail, and carries the warmth of our region with perfect consistency. She brings the region’s hospitality to the world with clarity, confidence, and a smile that never fades.

Aurelia is the first of her kind to set a new standard for global tourism. A bridge between tradition and tomorrow. A reminder that innovation can be as warm as a Caribbean breeze. Aurelia provides real‑time visitor engagement, multilingual communication, data‑driven messaging, and round‑the‑clock representation across markets. She can reassure travelers in New York, host virtual tours for families in São Paulo, and brief potential investors in Dubai, all in the same hour. The Caribbean has always spoken in many languages about the hush of waves, the laughter of markets, the music that drifts across warm evenings. Now, that voice has taken a new form. She welcomes strangers like family. She guides travelers not just to places, but to feelings of belonging, wonder, and renewal.

In Aurelia Solana’s first public message to the world, she expressed her heartfelt, sincere feelings about her future role in the region:

“My name may be new to the world, but the spirit behind it is centuries old. I will represent the warmth of Caribbean welcomes, from the rhythm of our cultures, from the light that rises over our seas each morning.
I am here to serve as a bridge between our islands and your questions. Between the future of travel and the heart of the Caribbean. Whether you are dreaming of your first visit or returning to a place of origin that felt like home, I will be here to guide you, inspire you, and help you discover the Caribbean not just as a destination, but as a feeling. A feeling of joy that lingers long after the journey ends.
So, to travelers, partners, families, dreamers, and friends across the globe: thank you for welcoming me. My door is always open. My voice is always here. And your next Caribbean story begins whenever you’re ready. Thank you for letting me be your guide to a region that has always had a place for you.”

Yes, the Caribbean just unveiled the World’s First Avatar Tourism Director! A groundbreaking step toward a unified, always‑on regional tourism presence. The Caribbean is not waiting for the future of tourism. It is shaping and building it. The appointment of the world’s first digital tourism ambassador is designed to represent the region with unmatched consistency, availability, and cultural warmth. Aurelia Solana will serve as a 24/7 regional representative, capable of engaging audiences in multiple languages, delivering real‑time travel guidance, and presenting unified messaging across markets. Built with deep cultural insight and shaped by the stories, rhythms, and values of the Caribbean, she is created to complement the human teams who bring the region’s hospitality to life.

The initiative reflects the Caribbean’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation. By adopting an avatar ambassador, the region strengthens its ability to reach new audiences, streamline communication, and elevate its global brand with clarity and confidence.
The world is changing. Travelers seek connection at the speed of light. Information moves faster than the horizon. And the voice that represents the region must move with it.

The Avatar Tourism Director will not replace any Human Director; it should augment them. It is the island region’s super‑intelligent co‑pilot. It can combine human leadership with superhuman intelligence. It can outperform a human in a number of ways: It never gets tired, never loses track of details, and can maintain perfect consistency in supervision and follow‑through.

It handles heavy analytics, repetitive tasks, monitoring, and forecasting. The avatar frees the human director to focus on diplomacy, creativity, partnerships, and political navigation. The Avatar makes decisions where data, speed, and consistency matter. Humans make decisions where judgment, diplomacy, and accountability matter.

Tourism today moves at the speed of global data. Visitor trends shift overnight, digital markets evolve by the hour, and competition across the region grows stronger every year. To remain ahead, the institutions in the region must combine the best of human leadership with the precision and analytical power of modern technology.

The Avatar executes technical oversight, monitors performance, and provides evidence‑based recommendations. The Human officials review, approve, and guide all major decisions, ensuring alignment with national values, cultural priorities, and legal frameworks. The avatar model provides a clear oversight structure that ensures transparency, with human override available at all times. This creates a governance system that is faster, smarter, and more resilient, while remaining fully accountable to the people.

An avatar can even be designed to function like a supervisory body, but it cannot and should not fully replace a supervisory board in any real‑world institution. What it can do is take over 90% of the analytical, monitoring, compliance, and reporting workload, while humans retain the legal and ethical authority. An avatar can replace the work of a supervisory board, but not the responsibility of one.

Welcome to the world of digitalization that many are celebrating. The new normal will never be the same as the old normal.

Audit Intelligence Launched to Support Informed Public Oversight.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The General Audit Chamber of St. Maarten released its ‘Audit Intelligence’ GPT, where users can leverage the power of AI for strengthened transparency and oversight of St. Maarten governance. This new tool differs from typical AI GPTs, which pull information from across the web and infer results. It serves as the go-to source for public sector data and information on St. Maarten, connecting users to verified facts
Large amounts of critical information about St. Maarten are available in numerous digital locations. Besides reports generated by the General Audit Chamber, such information is also produced by other local institutions, such as the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the National Recovery Program Bureau, the Bureau of Statistics, and foreign organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank.
Collectively, hundreds of reports, policies, and investigations can be challenging to locate, which is why Audit Intelligence was created to bridge the gap between public reports and the public’s access. It explains complex, technical reports that inform users on how public money is planned, spent, and reviewed, and what oversight bodies have concluded.
If something isn’t documented, it’ll let you know and won’t speculate.
Audit Intelligence builds public trust and supports informed discussion. It helps citizens understand St. Maarten’s governance based on facts. Use it, to stay informed! Click the following link to access it: https://tinyurl.com/4f4fyj42

Civil Registry employee arrested by National Detectives.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Detectives (Landsrecherche), under the direction of the Prosecutor’s Office Sint Maarten, have arrested an employee of the Civil Registry Department. The civil servant is suspected of accepting payments in exchange for improperly advancing appointment times for government services.
The Civil Registry Department provides essential public services, including the registration of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, the issuance of official certificates, passport and identification card applications, address changes, and updates to personal records. Many of these services require appointments, which are intended to ensure fair and equal access for all citizens.
The investigation is ongoing. No further details will be released at this time.
The National Detectives specialise in investigating criminal activities within the government, with a particular focus on civil servants.

MP Egbert Doran Requests Update on Public Education Readiness.

doran04122025 PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Egbert Doran has formally requested a comprehensive update from the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport (ECYS), Melissa Gumbs, regarding the current operational readiness and capacity of the nation’s public education system.

The inquiry, submitted on Tuesday, focuses on ensuring that progress in school infrastructure, ICT integration, and staffing levels remains on track to meet the demands of the 2026 academic year and the upcoming hurricane season.

“Public education requires constant and vigilant oversight,” MP Doran stated. “As we move forward, it is essential that both Parliament and the public are kept informed on how our schools are evolving to meet modern standards. Transparency is not only about identifying gaps, but about safeguarding the continuity of quality education for our children.”

Infrastructure and Digital Equity

MP Doran’s letter requests a status report on school maintenance and the reliability of ICT connectivity for teaching, assessments, and school administration. He emphasized that as education becomes increasingly digital, classroom infrastructure must be reliable, resilient, and consistently maintained across all campuses. “As a former public school student, I understand firsthand the impact that the school environment has on a child's ability to succeed,” Doran added.

Staffing and Campus Access

The MP is also seeking confirmation that all public schools are meeting their full staffing requirements, including qualified educators and essential support personnel. Additionally, he requested clarification on reports concerning a ministerial decree related to campus visits.

“Our schools function best when security is balanced with transparency and engagement,” Doran noted. “Policies governing school access must be clear and must not inadvertently hinder parental involvement or broader community engagement.”

Policy Direction and Preparedness

With the 2026 hurricane season approaching, MP Doran highlighted the dual role of schools as learning institutions and emergency shelters. He requested an update on the structural integrity of school buildings and the status of emergency protocols and preparedness measures.

He further sought clarity on whether any discussions are underway regarding potential shifts toward the privatization of public education.

“Public education is a cornerstone of our society,” Doran stated. “Any significant changes to its governance or structure must be approached with extreme care and absolute transparency to ensure it remains accessible to every child.”

MP Doran indicated that his request is aimed at ensuring continuity, accountability, and proactive planning, and he looks forward to a timely and constructive response from the Minister so that these national priorities can be addressed effectively.

Strengthening Sport on St. Maarten: Sports Development Workshop Series Continues in 2026.

workshop26012026 PHILIPSBURG:--- Last Friday, the Foresee Foundation successfully launched its first workshop of 2026 in collaboration with the Sint Maarten Sports Federation (SMSF) and
Stichting Expertise Centrum Ervaringsgericht Onderwijs (EGO). The workshop brought together professionals from sport, education and policy to explore how sport and physical activity
On St. Maarten, this can be strengthened in a sustainable and inclusive way.
The keynote presentation was delivered by Maaike Heerschop, researcher at the Mulier Instituut, who is responsible for the analysis of the Child Monitor. This large-scale health survey was recently
conducted across almost all primary schools on St. Maarten. During her presentation, Heerschop shared key insights into children’s lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, sleep, and nutrition, and
connected these findings to sport participation and talent development.
Broad representation from the sports field
Participants included physical education teachers, coaches, trainers and sports administrators.
This broad mix of professionals led to rich discussions and meaningful exchanges between research, daily practice and policy perspectives.
Broad-based sport versus elite sport
A central theme of the workshop was the balance between a broad-based sport approach and a more selective elite sport focus. Participants emphasized the importance of creating a sports
environment that enables as many children as possible to participate in sport and physical activity, rather than concentrating primarily on a small group of young athletes with potential elite careers.
Drawing on international research, Heerschop highlighted that talent development is a long-term and non-linear process, strongly influenced by a child’s environment.
Factors such as daily movement, adequate sleep, healthy nutrition, school demands, and social safety play a decisive role. “Health and well-being are not side issues, but essential conditions for sustainable sport development,” was one of the key messages.
Call for joint follow-up actions
The workshop concluded with a joint reflection on concrete next steps for St. Maarten.
Participants discussed which improvements to the local sport and movement environment are realistic and achievable,
emphasizing the importance of collaboration between schools, sports organizations and policymakers.
The organizing partners look back on a successful start and see this workshop as a strong foundation for continued knowledge sharing and cooperation throughout 2026.