THE BOTTOM – State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops, responded to a letter of further financial assistance from the Chamber of Commerce Saba & Statia. Post-Hurricane Irma, the business community on Saba and St. Eustatius continue to face financial burdens and the influx of tourists to the islands has decreased.
“In order to accelerate the recovery of employment, I enable the non-profit company Qredits to offer microcredits with favorable conditions to (re) starting entrepreneurs on Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius. For the first 90 loans I have made 550,000 euro available and this scheme was opened on 1 January,” said Knops.
Financial request
Support measures are taken with priority. Over the past month and a half, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has worked on an unpaid compensation for businesses in the tourism sector on both islands. As soon as the regulation is ready, information about the date of the opening and the further details of the regulation follows. The aim is to open the scheme quickly and it is expected that this will be the end of January 2018.
Marketing Campaigns
The request for a financial contribution for marketing campaigns is a consideration that usually lies with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has referred the islands to the Dutch Office for Tourism and Congresses for the knowledge needs of marketing, which Saba has also made use of.