I agree with this, but I also agree with Pat. I think you are speaking to two different points in time. Initially, there isn't going to be any decision for folks like us to make. There will be no place to stay, no place to eat, etc. Realistically, and depending on where you like to stay, that will be a year, year and a half. The next phase will be one where you can go down there, but you will really just be in the way. I think that is what Pat is speaking to. How long will it last? None of us knows now, but I think it will not be that hard to tell, and I don't think it will last too long, which is where your point comes in.

I think the people and businesses of St. Martin wil let us know when they are in a position to provide some sort of "vacation experience", and I think the greatest risk is NOT that tourists will want to go back to the island too soon, but rather that they/we will avoid the island because the level of amenities will initially be FAR LESS than what we have all come to enjoy (and take for granted??). And that, I think, is your point. And I think it is a good one