The initiative focuses on hospitality standards for taxi operators, short-term rentals, and restaurants, benchmarked against Caribbean regional best practices
ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius — Statia is taking a decisive step toward improving service quality across its tourism sector through a new partnership with The George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. The collaboration, part of a regional programme supported by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), marks a significant milestone in the island’s ambition to raise the standard of its hospitality sector and sharpen the visitor experience across key areas of tourism service delivery.
The initiative marks the first time the island has secured a spot in the GWU Institute of International Tourism Studies’ consulting programme. The project pairs GWU graduate students with regional destinations to design frameworks that strengthen tourism policy, operations, and customer service.
For Statia, the focus will be the development of standards for taxi operators, short‑term rentals, and restaurants — sectors considered essential to the island’s visitor experience. The work will draw on Caribbean best practices and sustainability benchmarks, aligning the island’s approach with regional quality goals.
“We are honoured to have been chosen for this initiative,” said Maya Pandt, the director of tourism at the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation (STDF). “With encouragement from the CTO, we saw an opportunity to take a structured approach to service excellence. Establishing clear, measurable standards across the tourism value chain will uplift professional performance and create a more seamless experience for our guests.”
Pandt said the partnership also marks an important collaboration between the STDF and the directorate of economy, nature, and infrastructure (ENI), ensuring policy and practice evolve together.
“This programme with George Washington University fills a critical gap by giving our teams access to expert knowledge that is often difficult to acquire internally. It strengthens our ability to draft informed, future‑ready policy and to understand the technological forces shaping modern governance,” said Arlene Spanner, the tourism policy adviser at ENI. “It also creates a valuable exchange: we share real‑world governance challenges, while the students gain hands‑on experience with the realities of small‑island development.”
Ms Spanner added that the GWU collaboration supports Statia’s longer‑term goal of building a more professional, innovation‑driven public sector.
Seleni Matus, executive director of GWU’s institute of international tourism studies, oversees the project and is coordinating the student consulting teams.
