Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, John Benjamin, says one of the things the island should be proud about is that all the players in the tourism industry are working as a unit to promote Anguilla as an upmarket destination, something he wanted from the outset of his appointment.

The Anguilla Tourist Board’s Office

He was speaking in particular about the unification of Government, the Tourist Board and the private sector and the fine example of cooperation it had brought to the attention of other Caribbean islands.

“If we are going to do something for Anguilla, the Tourist Board has to work in conjunction not only with the Government, which is an important partner, but also the rest of the players and stakeholders in the business community,” Mr. Benjamin stressed.

Wallblake Airport bedecked with palms and ornamental shrubs

He said Anguilla had a good marketing team and there was a good synergy among all the players, notwithstanding that there was need for other persons as well as properties to come on board.

“Obviously it is not perfect because we still have a number of players that need to get on board, especially our charming hotels,” he told The Anguillian in an interview as he reflected on the past five years of his current chairmanship of the Anguilla Tourist Board. “If they come, they will see the importance of upgrading and marketing their services and their approach to the business. Without that they are going to be left behind. That’s something that the Tourist Board and particularly the Ministry led by Donna Banks [Tourism Adviser], is strongly working on to get the middle to low income properties up to speed.” Much of the work is being concentrated on a number of small properties grouped as “the Charming Escapes.”

Blowing Point Ferry Terminal and Port Development

Mr. Benjamin is pleased that, with the assistance of persons like Donna Banks, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch (Director of Tourism), Merlyn Rogers (Marketing Director) and Marie Walker (Director of the Anguilla Tourist Office in New York) as well as the other marketing representatives overseas, the island is benefiting much from its marketing strategy.

He observed that five years ago when he began as Chairman of the Tourist Board the marketing budget was US$400,000. To date it is up to $1.2 million and for the 2007-2008, the recommended budget is 3 million. He pointed out, however, that this was still well below the budget of a number of neighbouring islands. He said Anguilla was fortunate to get where it is today despite its small budget and that a number of persons in the marketing field had provided much assistance because of their love for, and dedication to, the island. He stated that Government had been very supportive of the Tourist Board having seen the very positive results to the economy.

He noted that following his appointment as Chairman of the Tourist Board in July 2002, Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming, then Minister of Tourism, had given him two particular tasks. One was to see that there was a new and up-market Tourist Office to bring respectability to its operations. The renovated and upgraded building in the Valley, now housing the Tourist Board and the office of the Hotel and Tourism Association, is a result of that effort. The other task was to broaden and lengthen the island’s tourism season. It was felt that with properties closing too early at the end of the high season there was an impression that the tourism sector had closed down.

“We managed to get most of them to open up to the end of August and sometimes September,” Mr. Benjamin stated. “It was felt that if they managed to open all year round this could promote opportunities for employment of our people and accommodation and entertainment for our guests.” He was pleased that a number of small hotels, other accommodation facilities and some restaurants, including Veya and Flavours, had remained open over the last season. He was of the view that by reducing the closing period it would be “a lot easier on tourists who come to the island looking for places to go.”

Mr. John Benjamin

The Tourist Board Chairman made the point that the longer tourists stayed in Anguilla the more revenue would be earned. He revealed that statistics showed that for the 2006-2007 Season all of Anguilla’s tourism markets had shown an increase of between 10 and 20% of visitors to the island. He reasoned that with Spirit Airline now flying into St. Maarten, and JetBlue scheduled to begin flights there in January, an increased number of tourists should be arriving in Anguilla, apart from the Board’s marketing drive.

He stated that one of the promotional successes had been to make the Festivals Office an integral part of the tourism product and marketing strategy. As a result such activities as the Anguilla Tranquillity Jazz Festival, the Anguilla Yacht Regatta combined with the local racing boats, the funding of Moonsplash and the strengthening of the Summer Festival, have had a positive effect on attracting more visitors to the island and promoting all-year round tourism. He expressed the hope that, notwithstanding the need for persons to go on holiday, there could eventually be a shorter period of temporary closure of properties at the end of the high season.

He was particularly happy with the benefits of the Jazz Festival. According to him, it is a great marketing tool for Anguilla in that BET Jazz, one of its organisers, has its programming in 60 million homes across the United States. The Jazz Festival not only attracts many visitors to Anguilla at the start of the season, but is of much assistance to children in the development of their music education. Further, with the involvement of personnel from BET Jazz there has been much improvement in the organising of the annual Summer Festival functions at Sandy Ground.

Mr. Benjamin spoke about the efforts of the Tourist Board over the past five years to encourage the beautification of Anguilla as a further attraction to tourists. He mentioned the work at the Blowing Point Port area where coconut palms and ornamental trees have been planted, and the involvement of Cap Juluca and CuisinArt Resort & Spa in placing palms and other plants in the Passenger Terminal where much upgrading work has been carried out. He was also delighted with the work at the Wallblake Airport premises where stately palms, flowering and ornamental shrubs, have added a great deal of beauty, creating a good first and perhaps lasting impression of the island in the minds of visitors. He also stated that there was a noticeable improvement in garbage collection, putting a virtual end to repeated complaints and resulting in a cleaner and healthier environment.

The Tourist Board Chairman suggested that restaurants and other businesses in the Valley in particular should make their surroundings more attractive to tourists. He is of the view that this would encourage them to spend more time in the area on their way from the tourism belt at West End to Shoal Bay and other locations on the island. In this way more tourist dollars would be spent in the middle of the island where they could feel comfortable away from their hotels.

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