Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5480/-1/140/
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DONNA: "TOURISM IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS" 'Running With The Wolves'
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As the Anguilla Tourist Board considered its 2007/2008 marketing budget of some US$3.5 million, Tourism Advisor, Donna Banks, made a rallying call on the people of the island and all stakeholders in the industry that “Tourism is Everybody’s Business.” Not only did this motivating speaker repeatedly emphasised that statement, but she pointed out that Anguilla has to be aware of the fact that it is “running with the wolves” – a reference to the stiff competition the island is facing with its luxury brand of tourism.
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Hon. Donna Banks
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“If we are going to ensure that we can be a sustainable and viable tourism destination, it means that all hands must be put to the plough,” she told the marketing meeting at the Anguilla Tourism Board last week, as she gave an inexhaustible list of local partners in the industry. “We all have to work together because tourism is everybody’s business. It is not only the business of the Ministry of Tourism or the Anguilla Tourist Board or the Government of Anguilla. It is everybody’s business and we just cannot expect to be the beneficiaries of the tourism sector. We also have to be supporters and developers. It cannot be business as usual. We have to do things differently.”
Ms Banks was at the time delivering a power point presentation on the topic: “The Anguilla Experience: Managing Change.”
She said Anguilla had set the stage for pure luxury tourism. “You did not have to come to enjoy what is mass luxury in terms of a Ritz Carlton [or other such hotel]. We had pure luxury in terms of our Cap Julucas, our CuisinArts, our Malliouhanas, but that pure luxury is being threatened,” she stated, pointing out that Anguilla now had the potential of becoming part of a world-wide mass luxury tourism product.
“So we don’t have the competitive edge that we had years ago. We would be one of the crowd,” she lamented “What makes us different is a real threat. Once we have got involved not in the global tourism market, but the global tourism product, we are all part of the same crowd, same hotels, same restaurants, same fast foods etc. Now we have got into an arena where we are running with the wolves. Whereas we had that distinctive character, and where we stood out and had a competitive edge and we could afford to parade, the pressure is – can we afford to parade now? We are running with the wolves.” She claimed that “by default we have become part of the global tourism product, competing head to head with stronger brands and better supported destinations.”
Ms Banks was of the view that Anguilla was losing its competitive advantage and consequently was not staying ahead of the game. She stressed that there was a need to re-establish the vision the island as “a serene and tranquil destination providing a quality experience to the discerning and discriminating visitor.”
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Government, Tourism Officials and others
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She outlined various strategies and action points “to manage the change and preserve the integrity of the Anguilla Experience. Among them is better access to the island. This includes alternative transportation out of major hubs, exploring better airfares and more frequency of scheduled air services, continuing support for private jets and charter services, regulating and enhancing the ferry services and improving port facilities.
Other action points she spoke of were to develop the Anguilla tourism brand in consultation with the industry, identify priorities for investment and product improvement; grow niche markets; awareness programmes in schools and the media; establish a task force to coordinate the industry message and raise its profile; appoint ambassadors to speak for tourism; re-introduce guest-host activities/events; initiate programmes to attract the brightest and the best to the tourism industry; mandate developers to train staff at all levels and contribute to the overall training budget; develop new and enhance existing attractions; measure the level of visitor satisfaction with the Anguilla Experience; monitor the performance and prices in Anguilla relative to other destinations; and collaborate with the appropriate agencies and organisations to enhance the Valley town centre; revitalise the Charming Escapes Collection Programme; re-energise the Ministry of Tourism into a more dynamic one; and financially enable the Tourist Board to compete effectively in the global tourism market.
During the marketing meeting, there were very informative reviews on various events held in the United States by the Anguilla Tourist Board, during the last tourism season, in its continuing efforts to attract more visitors to the island. The reviews and other presentations were given by Director of Tourism, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch, Marketing Director, Merlin Rogers and Deputy Director for Product Development, Gina Brooks.