Honourable Asot A. Michael,
the newly appointed Minister of Tourism, Economic Development Investment &
Energy, for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, touched down in the UK on
Monday 22 September for a packed itinerary during his 48 hour trip. Also
joining the Tourism Minister was the Hon. Paul Chet Greene, Minister of Trade,
Commerce, Industry, Sports, Culture and National Festivals. CEO of the Antigua
and Barbuda Tourism Authority Colin C. James and the UK based tourism staff
were also in attendance at the meetings with members of the travel trade, tour
operators and Hotel Partners. The objective of the meetings was to update them
on the developments in the industry and solicit their feedback in creative ways
to continue to grow and develop Antigua and Barbuda’s vital tourism sector.
Minister Asot Michael
touched upon the “strong cultural ties” that the two nations share over the
years and announced that “the
destination had enjoyed a robust growth of visitors from the United Kingdom this
year, with the UK being“the best performing market for overseas air arrivals recording
a 10% year-on-year growth rate”.
13 hotel partners
representing most of the properties on island attended an early afternoon sessions
while 21 of the major UK tour operators accepted an invitation to dinner for a
face to face update on tourism developments in the twin island nation.
Minister Michael’s update
to both tour operators, and hotel partners focused on upcoming infrastructure
developments, such as the New Sandals Beaches Resort, China’s Yida
International US$2B investment and Antigua and Barbuda’s brand new Airport
Terminal. Hon. Asot Michael proudly described the new airport terminal as “the
largest in the Eastern Caribbean which will open by March of 2015 equipped with
Jet Bridges, multiple VIP lounges and high-end duty free shops”. The new airport
terminal will double the current capacity of visitors that pass through the V.C.
Bird International Airport, and will greatly improve the visitor experience.
This news of the new
developments and airport was well received by the hotel partners and prompted a
lively discussion where the partners raised key product issues of concern to
them. These included the high cost of utilities, the need for more customer
service training for key front line workers who interact with visitors and
affordable airlift in the summer months.The need to be more efficient in the
way we capture passenger arrival information was another area that was of
concern to the hotel partners, with suggestions to include all members of a
family on a single immigration form. This plus an automated way of collating
the passenger arrival data was recommended, as a way to lead to faster
reporting for quicker marketing decisions.
Minister Michael updated
the hotels on recent energy initiatives that the Government had agreed with
Venezuela, which will soon lead to a significant 12% reduction in energy costs.
He also reported on a recent commitment from the new Airport Authority Board to
ensure that all customer facing staff benefit from new customer service
training to coincide with the opening of the new Airport Terminal.
The Hon Paul Chet Greene
also updated the partners on an initiative to use the Sir Viv Richards Cricket
Stadium for Sporting Tourism Activities for visiting UK county and school cricket
teams which will stimulate much needed business during the slower summer
period. Minister Greene indicated that the Government is currently conducting
an audit of its heritage and historic tourism sights to ensure that they are
developed in a sustainable way to contribute to the country’s heritage tourism.
The tour operators were
pleased with the destination’s performance and strong demand for the upcoming winter
and sought a commitment from the Minister for more funding to be made available
for Co-op Marketing initiatives to continue the positive growth.
As part of his mandate the Hon.
Asot Michael is looking to strengthen relationships with all airline providers,
tour operators, travel trade and members of the media. This is a key component
of the new Government’s strategy to further develop the industry, and drive
arrival numbers. The end result will be increased employment for nationals, more
foreign exchange earnings, higher tax revenue for the government and a raise in the
national income. This will ensure Antigua and Barbuda will see steady growth
and sustainable development for the nation,
For more information on
Antigua and Barbuda, visit: www.visitantiguabarbuda.comor call the Antigua and
Barbuda Tourism Authority on 0203 668 3800.
