Colin James, Alison Ferguson and
Erica Henry-Jackman
of Antigua and Barbuda along with
Glen Beache, Shelly John and
Steven Phillips from St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The always elegant Four Seasons in Yorkville
Colin James, CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Authority with the Honourable Glen Beache, Minister of Tourism for St. Vincent and the Grenadines
“We have 365 beaches!”
“But we have 32 islands!”
Ah, the rivalry. The competition. Right up there with the World Cup!
Not really…not when it’s two friendly Caribbean nations who are neighbours and enjoy a little friendly teasing, all for a good cause.
And a good cause it was indeed this week when a contingent from Antigua and Barbuda (“365 beaches”) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (“32 islands and keys”) hosted a group of travel industry types to a stylish afternoon tea at the Four Seasons in Toronto.
As Erica Henry-Jackman of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Office pointed out, “We two countries consistently see ourselves on the hottest, sexiest destination lists!”
As Canadians we certainly felt the love: Colin James, CEO of the ANU Tourism Authority (“I’m not the singer – he sings better, but I’m better looking”) remarked, the Canadian market has been the only one to show increase in travel throughout the Caribbean during the recent recession. “We have doubled our visitors from Canada to 10,000 – proving that we are a right fit for the Canadian market.”
(Interesting factoid: did you know there is no residency requirement for weddings in Antigua? That your cruise clients can step ashore and get married? “Heck, if they fly in, we’ll marry them on the runway!” says Henry-Jackman.)
Meanwhile, the Honourable Glen Beache (is that a name for a Caribbean tourism minister or what?) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines also feels there’s a tremendous opportunity for his country up here. “We’re in the unique position of being one of the least known Caribbean countries, and that’s a good thing. We can learn from our neighbours.” And for that reason, he added, they’ve decided to concentrate on niche markets, including sailing, diving, eco-touring and weddings.
“It’s clear we are not looking for mass tourism, and very cognizant of our history.”
But they’ll be looking for more of us to visit their sunny shores soon: while SVG now boasts that it’s just a 20 minute flight from St. Lucia and 24 minutes from Barbados, there are plans for an international airport to open in 2012.
And both destinations are encouraging island hopping. “Travel is all about the bragging rights,” Beache reminded us, “Imagine visiting two or three Caribbean countries in one trip!”
Count me in. As soon as I’ve finished this elegant cup of tea.
