Brighter Hopes For Anguilla's Tourism

By the time the next issue of The Anguillian is published on Friday, November 3, the 2006/2007 tourism season will have begun. By all appearances, the previous season in Anguilla was an excellent one with a number of visitors still coming in although the main resorts, restaurants and ancillary services were closed for the usual break and refurbishing work.

The visitors were however able to find comfortable accommodation at smaller facilities which remained open. If this trend continues, it may well be that year-round tourism in Anguilla will be soon a reality and gone will be the seasonality of the industry for us. It will mean that in this respect, like in other areas, we will catch up with some of our neighbouring Caribbean islands.
This year, there are even brighter hopes than last year for the growth and sustainability of tourism in Anguilla. This is the year for the grand opening of the Temenos/St. Regis Golf Course in the island’s tourism belt on Friday, November 3, and it is expected to be an enormous contributor to the industry and to the attraction of the island. There will now be opportunities for golfers to come to Anguilla from far and near and by way of the executive jets which are expected to show increased flights into the island now that this facility will be available.
It will also be possible for guests from other hotels on the island to play at the golf course when the necessary arrangements are made. One of the pleasing things about the golf course is that, as shown by the training camps for Anguillian children, the people of the island can hope to have opportunities to play golf as well. They will not therefore feel sidelined nor feel that the sport is only for visitors.
The opening of the golf course is one of the biggest coming events and will have a lasting impact on tourism in Anguilla. Another major event is the Tranquillity Jazz Festival, in which BET, the Anguilla Tourist Board, the National Bank and a number of hotels are partnering. It is expected to jump start the tourism industry. This event takes place from November 9-12 and it is understood that there are many bookings at various hotels.
There have been quite a lot of preparations for the commencement of the season. The various properties are in a top state of repair and refurbishment. Their gardens have been trimmed and improved and, above all, in many cases, employees, who are so important in the industry, have undergone training in such critical areas as customer service and guest relations. Even the improved roads on the island have added much to the preparations for our visitors. Tourism is the life-blood and engine of Anguilla’s economy. It affects in some way every single business on the island and therefore when the season returns, there is much relief and hope for better days. As more and more facilities and services become available, each year, there are brighter hopes for all. As said earlier, this year much is expected with the opening of the golf course. It will be one of the tourism facilities in which the people of the island will take great pride.