Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2018 | Page 455

SABA
Overview of Saba
Saba is a 5 square mile island located 27 miles South
West of St. Maarten. The island is officially part of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is considered
a special municipality. While Dutch is the official
language, English is more commonly used by the
locals. The local currency is the US dollar. With a
population of approximately 1900 people, you will
find a friendly community atmosphere that is an
attraction in itself.
Saba’s tourism brand
What is your vision for Saba's tourism
industry?
I would like to see our tourism industry grow in a
sustainable way. We would like to be able to reach out
to our ideal visitor, someone who can appreciate the
beauty and culture of Saba, and increase our visitor
numbers from this very special target market.
What would you say are the challenges
your country faces, if any, to its
tourism growth?
Saba is the place you go to when you want to take a
step back in time. It is a place of no worries. A place
where safety, tranquility, charm and nature are at the
foreground of a visitor’s experience. Add an excellent
culinary scene, diving, hiking and heritage activities,
and you get a well-rounded cultural adventure with
memories that last a lifetime. While Saba’s unique charm is what makes it special
for our visitors, it also makes it challenging to tap
into the right markets and reach the travelers who
would most enjoy the experience of visiting Saba.
What makes Saba such a charming
island? Saba has wonderful events that occur throughout the
year:
Saba is not your typical Caribbean island, you will
not find white sandy beaches here. The people who
visit Saba come for an escape from their busy lives,
to reconnect to nature and to be welcomed by our
friendly locals. Our traditional architecture and
cottages only adds to the unique identity of Saba. Twice a year we have Saba Restaurant Week, where
our restaurants create special menus at a low price,
highlighting our culinary options.
When is the best time of year to visit
Saba? In October, we have a month-long event called
Sea & Learn. During Sea & Learn there are many
presentations, activities and experiments that
visitors and locals can join to learn more about
the environment. Many of the activities have a free
entrance!
Saba is beautiful to visit any time of the year. And
we are working to have different special events every
month to facilitate this. By doing this, we will cater to
the visitors who come to Saba during the high season
but also creates options for the flexible traveler who
prefers to travel during the slower months, which
offers less expensive airline options.
What are some of the special events
and festivals held on Saba throughout
the year that you will like to highlight?
Carnival is held during the last week of July and
every night has a different theme, ending with Grand
Parades on the weekend.
In November, we host our annual Saba Lobster Fest
weekend and many restaurants create menus that
feature our popular local lobster.