The St Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation launches an inclusive, mobile-optimised gateway that includes voice-assisted navigation for the hearing and visually impaired, bringing the island’s authentic heritage and natural beauty to a broader global audience
ORANJESTAD, ST. EUSTATIUS – The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation today launched its revamped official destination website, www.statia-tourism.com/. Showcasing a modern, fully responsive design, the upgraded digital gateway breaks new ground for regional destination marketing by embedding advanced web accessibility features directly into the core user experience. This ensures that information regarding Statia’s landscapes, diving, and historical landmarks is readily available to all travellers, including those with visual impairments and reading challenges.
Developed in close partnership with digital specialists Shift2 and regional representative SIM Caribbean, the platform sets a new benchmark for inclusivity in the Caribbean tourism sector. A primary pillar of the redesign is the integration of the WebReader text-to-speech solution. This built-in functionality allows users to have all website content read aloud seamlessly, expanding the destination’s reach to an entirely diverse, global audience whilst prioritising digital equity.
“Our goal was not merely to refresh our online appearance, but to fundamentally transform how the world interacts with Statia digitally,” said Maya Pandt, the director of tourism. “By placing cutting-edge digital accessibility at the forefront of this redesign, we are ensuring that Statia’s timeless story—our rich heritage, pristine nature, and untouched tranquility—is open and welcoming to everyone. This platform bridges our rich past with a modern, inclusive future, allowing prospective visitors to effortlessly plan their holidays and experience our unique hospitality long before they step foot here.”
In addition to its advanced accessibility capabilities, the new website features an intuitive, mobile-optimised user interface that allows travellers to navigate accommodations, historical attractions, marine activities, hiking trails, and local events effortlessly from any device.
St Eustatius, known affectionately as Statia, occupies a unique position in the Caribbean. The small Dutch Caribbean island in the northern Leeward chain carries an outsized historical footprint: it was once the wealthiest trading port in the Atlantic world, its harbours thronged with merchant vessels from a dozen nations, and it was the first entity to recognise an independent United States 250 years ago on 16 November 1776. Today, that heritage endures in the cobbled lanes of Oranjestad, in the ruins of Lower Town stretching beneath the sea, and in the extraordinary marine ecosystems that surround its shores. The new website is built to carry that story forward with clarity, confidence, and contemporary design.
Coinciding with the digital relaunch, Statia Tourism has also formalised its brand identity guidelines. The existing logo has been refined to establish a consistent, polished visual aesthetic across all digital and print media, reinforcing Statia’s positioning as a premium, authentic, and sustainable Caribbean destination.
The refreshed platform is live as of today. Global travellers and media partners are invited to explore the new digital gateway and discover the hidden gem of the Caribbean by visiting the official site.
