The Anguilla Tourist Board has just concluded a series of individual and group meetings with hoteliers and other industry partners to update them on its plans for the year and to discuss matters of challenge or concern facing both the public and private sectors. The Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association also participated in the meetings which are held annually under the theme: Team Anguilla.

Trudy Nixon, Donna Banks, Marie Walker, Merlyn Rogers and Amelia Vanterpool Kubisch

This year’s team comprised Director of Tourism, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch; Director of Marketing, Merlin Rogers; Marie Walker from the Anguilla Tourist Board in New York; Special Adviser, Tourism, Donna Banks; and Executive Director of the Hotel and Tourism Association, Judy Nixon.
They visited fourteen separate properties and held a group meeting with other representatives.

Director of Tourism, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch, said the meetings were also to enhance the Tourist Board’s relationship with the private sector. She stated that among the matters discussed were a number of upcoming activities. These included Anguilla’s attendance and participation in road shows, international tourism trade fairs, such as a major one in Italy, BIT in Berlin, ITB in the United States, the New York Times Show and World Travel Market in the United Kingdom as well as media and travel agents’ familiarisation visits to Anguilla.

She said a number of the hoteliers normally accompany representatives of the Tourist Board at some of the events and that the meetings provided an opportunity to plan ahead of time. She disclosed that the Tourist Board’s marketing budget for 2007 was EC$8.7 million.

Ms. Rogers spoke about the European and Puerto Rican markets and Ms Walker discussed what her office in White Plain, New York, was doing to market Anguilla.

There is also a marketing representative in Canada.

Ms. Banks spoke on access to Anguilla, stating that the island was in a better position this year with two daily American Eagle flights from San Juan. She emphasised the need to encourage visitors to use that airline (to keep those two flights in operation) as well as the LIAT connection from Antigua, saying they were all very important to the Anguilla market.

Group meeting in progress

Several matters in Anguilla were also touched on by representatives of the Tourist Board. These included the branding of the island, the cleanliness of the environment, the proliferation of food vans and stalls and beach vending which were being monitored.
Ms. Nixon discussed such matters as hospitality training and the great strides made as a result of the establishment of the hospitality development unit, part of the National Community College. She noted that there were already 60 graduates and that over 100 others were now being trained.

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