Preserving Our Tourism And Survival

This week some of the important business of the Government, such as the sitting of the House of Assembly, has been postponed to pay attention to a review of Anguilla’s Tourism Strategy and, hopefully, to a revitalization of the tourism policy and thrust into the marketplace. This is both timely and necessary if we are to preserve the growing but otherwise fickle industry and maintain its sustainability and survival in these challenging times of fluctuation and high competition.

Anguilla is continuing to hold its own well as “a low volume high yield destination…with a reputation for luxurious tourism accommodation in a casual and relaxing atmosphere.” The Anguilla Experience has made the island the desire of many travelers and, as we often like to say, the envy of our competitors. But we must now be conscious that a number of our Caribbean neighbours and other destinations outside the region as well are narrowing our competitive margin and juggling for a sizeable share of the markets. There are some cases where think tanks appear to be running out of ideas so much so that rather than seeking other innovative ways to attract tourists to a particular island in the region they are suggesting that the Caribbean should be marketed on a whole as a destination.

But each island has its peculiar identity and its own economic needs to see about and so, for a long time, there will be no let up in efforts to work feverously to be an individual destination of choice as most places are doing. The time has certainly come for Anguilla to revisit its tourism strategy in light of various changes in the product and market and particularly in the area of competition. The fact that the Anguilla Government has secured the services of a well-experienced tourism consultant who has served in various parts of the world with much success, on contracts with the British Government and other agencies, says a lot about how we view the need to move forward with our tourism strategy.

The Anguillian is not qualified to say how our tourism strategy should develop and proceed. What can be said, however, is that we must ensure that the island maintains its comfortable position in the market, that more local investments in the industry must be encouraged, that our people must be the main beneficiaries of the island’s tourism efforts and that the social and cultural life of Anguilla must not be sacrificed even in the face of economic gain. We certainly can develop our tourism without falling victims to any of the negative effects that so often come with the industry.
There is also a need to avoid pricing ourselves out of the market.
The preservation of our tourism industry and its survival depend on the way we handle our business, develop our strategy, involve our people in the process and how our inhabitants also govern themselves.