What do tourists think of our island?

Respondents must express their opinion on several themes (immigration services, cleanliness of the island, taxis, excursions, price, Internet, beaches, restaurants, etc.). Some of these criteria distinguish the French side from the Dutch side. The figures quoted below are for the year 2015. However, the method and the number of tourists interviewed are not mentioned. Each criterion is calculated on a scale of 1 to 6, one being the higher score.

♦ Beaches

68% of the tourists think the beaches on the French side are "excellent", against 64% for those of the Dutch side. The beaches of Saint Martin have a score of 1.4 and those of Sint Maarten 1.5.

♦ Restaurants-dinner

The restaurants of the French side get a better score than those of the Dutch side: 1.6 against 1.7.

56% of respondents rated "excellent" dinners in Saint Martin, against 49% in Sint Maarten.

♦ Price and duty-free shopping

For shopping, tourists better rated the Dutch side: 2.3 against 2.5 French side for the price. 39% of people believe prices are 'good' in Sint Maarten, against only 30% for the French side. In Saint Martin, they are more likely (36%) to score them as "medium". Regarding duty-free shopping, 36% of tourists consider it 'good' in Sint Maarten and 'average' in Saint Martin. They are only 13% to rate as 'excellent' for the French side against 31% for the Dutch side.

♦ Condition of the roads

The condition of the roads is the worse rated criterion by tourists regardless of the side of the island: 2.9 and 3. However, the French side roads are considered slightly better. 25% and 35% of tourists consider them as 'good' and 'average', against 23 and 36 respectively, for the Dutch side. 8% of tourists consider them as very bad on both sides of the border. As a consolation, in 2014, they were 12% to think that these roads were in poor condition.

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