North Side, Anguilla (Monday, 27th January 2014) — Last week in my article entitled Marketing Anguilla as a Special Place to Visit, I mentioned the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise (www.bluescruise.com) that came to Anguilla on Wednesday, 22nd January. Well, the musical entertainment event held at The Dune Preserve was a great success as far as I could determine by the number of persons who attended.
I don’t know the exact count of cruise guests, ship crew, day-trippers from Saint Martin and Sint Maarten, visitors on Anguilla, and local residents who were there. However, I heard it mentioned that the mid-sized ship Nieuw Amsterdam had 330 passengers on board. What a glorious day it was for the “Cruising Blues” to meet “Tranquillity Wrapped in Blue” at Rendezvous Bay.
The weather was a picture perfect day. The venue was packed with people sitting, standing, bumping, and jiving on the various levels of The Dune’s artistically designed wooden boat structure. The beach below was packed with sun worshipers lounging on the sand, and sea bathers floating in the surf.
At the front entrance, we encountered local artisans Carol Matthew and Lena Gumbs with an exhibition of Anguilla handcrafts. There were two food stands and at least three bars including the main smoker out front. Barbequed ribs, chicken, rice and peas with salad were served for lunch. A smaller bar located near the beachfront offered coconut water, rum and baked johnnie cakes.
People ate, drank, danced, chatted and had a great time listening to the Blues. All who were in attendance were treated to a real feast of sun, spectacular sea views, fresh air, tropical breezes and some awesome tunes of music. I had a bird’s eye view up close to the stage and saw all the performers showcasing their gifted musical talents.
We heard the Bankie Banx Band (www.bankiebanx.net) play first. Then we were pleasantly introduced to the 2013 Memphis, Tennessee, International Blues Challenge winner, the Selwyn Birchwood Blues Band (www.selwynbirchwood.com), followed by the St Louis, Missouri, young rising star, the Marquise Knox Band (www.marquiseknox.com).
Prominent and influential composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Taj Mahal (www.tajblues.com), who was also touring on the Blues Cruise, was present in the house. He appeared to be meditating on the music whilst he was tucked away in Bankie’s small private seating section located behind the restaurant bar.
Exceptionally talented radio commentator Keith Stone Greaves and lively Anguilla Tourist Board staff member Joan Richardson were there too. Keith did a live recording for Radio Anguilla asking various audience members what their perspectives were of the event and how they enjoyed the Blues music. Joan greeted guests, visitors and locals socialising amongst the crowd.
We’ve experienced Jazz on Anguilla for a number of years – thanks to the efforts of Johnno’s in Sandy Ground and the Anguilla Jazz Festival that took place for several years. But, in all my life, I never imagined the Blues would come to Anguilla. It really is something else to listen to the Blues in a tranquil, many shades of blue, Caribbean environment. I heard Selwyn Birchwood compliment the beauty of our island, so you know he felt the peaceful vibes that emanate from this limestone coral based piece of rock.
We must give praise and thanks to the excursion organisers, Roger Naber and Yvonne Tharpes, and the Holland America cruise line crew, who chose to bring the Blues Cruise to Da Rock. Also we give kudos to those on land who were involved in the various aspects of putting on the event. They include the Anguilla Tourist Board representatives along with Bankie Banx and The Dune Preserve staff and vendors who served and sold food, drinks and tickets.
Our compliments go to the Dolphin Discovery staff for arranging round trip ground transportation for the visitors between Blowing Point and Rendezvous Bay. We give much appreciation also to Radio Anguilla for a live airing and recording of the event. Thanks too to Carol Matthew and Lena Gumbs for the local arts display. A big thanks to all of the individuals who attended the event, and that includes every person who was present.
Bringing conscious awareness to tourism
The Rhythm & Blues Cruise happening at The Dune Preserve had a positive outcome. However, I would still like to engage us in conversation with regard to our conscious awareness of Anguilla’s tourism product. It’s the key to our economy thriving.
This artistic performance is just one of the many ways that we can organise events promoting tourism and support our local community and businesses. We must become more aware of how we can improve upon marketing and organising Anguilla’s unique tourist attractions.
As is my style in writing opinion editorials, I will ask some questions and pose suggestions on what we can do to move ourselves forward, to stimulate and promote economic growth and development. My hope is that these comments and suggested ideas will inspire all of us, particularly the individuals in essential positions in the hotel and tourism industry, to be mindful of the areas for improvement.
Everyone of us can share our own creative ideas on the infinite ways we can truly market Anguilla to a global audience.
How do we promote Anguilla’s unique tourist attractions and events?
One of the things that I‘ve noticed with events planning on island is that we don’t always advertise what’s going on far enough in advance, or through widespread media sources. More people are beginning to use social media like Facebook to invite persons to various organised activities. Yet we still miss out on opportunities to welcome everyone who would wish to participate.
An idea that keeps popping up in my mind, from time to time, is the possibility of having an island-wide annual and monthly events calendar that’s available to the public and various organisations, businesses and government departments. It could be published as an App for smart phones, posted on a Facebook timeline and Anguilla related websites, or tweeted to interested persons.
Now I know it would take a key person or several individuals to be the primary points of contact to disseminate and distribute the events news. But may be by doing this we could avoid a congestion of too many activities organised on the same date and at the same time. Scheduling events on different dates would allow us to have wider participation because we wouldn’t be competing against each other.
Who should be the official hosts and welcoming committee for visitors?
Another aspect that is sometimes lacking in our organising events is ensuring that we have the presence of official representatives from the Anguilla Tourist Board and Government of Anguilla Ministry of Tourism. Not only do we need the presence of the ATB and GOA, but we also need a designated senior member of staff or elected representative from each entity. That person(s) should bring welcome greetings and a vote of thanks for our visitors making Anguilla their choice of destination.
Perhaps we don’t realise how these small acts of kindness from the host country’s governmental body can make visitors feel especially welcomed. It may be the incentive that makes them return again for another visit. They might even spread the word amongst their colleagues, friends and family about the gracious welcoming they received when they visited Anguilla and inspire others to come.
How can we all play a role in welcoming and greeting visitors?
Whether we consciously know it or not, how we welcome someone and our first meeting leave a lasting impression on the persons whom we meet. So let’s strive to show everyone whom we encounter our best behaviour and sincerest greetings.
At the Blues Cruise event, I personally introduced myself to the organisers, a few of the band members — Curtis Nutall (drums), Gus Thornton (electric guitar and bass), Marquise Knox (guitar and vocals), Regi Oliver (saxophone) and Selwyn Birchwood (guitar and vocals). I also spoke with a couple of the cruise ship guests. Jackie from Santa Barbara, California, was one of passengers with whom I chatted.
Naturally, I thanked all of them for coming and extended an invitation to come back another time and to stay longer. I told everyone how much we enjoyed the hip shaking, roof rattling Blues music. Two of the musicians gave me their business cards, so we can keep in contact.
Just a touch of class, speaking personally to visitors, can make all the difference in the world. It certainly makes people feel warmly welcomed.
How do we individually promote Anguilla’s tourism product?
I’ve illustrated the example above, of my own experiences in welcoming and greeting visitors, to inspire others to do likewise. Anyone can practice doing something similar or even find a better way of doing it. Hopefully, sharing what I do will motivate more persons to become actively involved in encouraging tourists to visit Anguilla.
Tourism is key for Anguilla, and all of us who reside on island, so we must be cognizant of the impact each of us has in promoting the tourism product for our nation. Whether you are Anguillian born, have relatives who are, or you’re, a national of another country, all of us need to work together to help sustain and create growth in our economy.
What we do best on Anguilla
When my family from Germany visited me last November, I heard my niece’s mother say that Sint Maarten advertised the Dutch island as having the friendliest people. But after visiting Anguilla for the day, she said that we were much more friendly here. It is one of the things that I love best about our community.
We speak, we greet and we meet people everywhere — at the grocery stores, on the road, in restaurants, at church or on the beach. We just need to remember to always welcome visitors on an official level at all scheduled events and activities. That way everyone who visits Anguilla will go back to his or her home countries telling others how warmly he or she was welcomed.
Visitors mentioning to persons that they met the Governor, Chief Minister or another Minister, whilst on Anguilla can go a long way in impressing folks. It makes people feel important and respected to meet such highly titled government officials.
With the combined efforts of all of us – children, youth and adults – working together, we can encourage many more visitors to come to Anguilla every month, every year. Then we will be doing our best to promote and attract tourists to visit our unique Caribbean island. And we will definitely be on the road to achieving our goal of Anguilla 44.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful for 2014 and forward to have 44 weeks of festive season tourism? What a difference it would make in our lives, and the economy, to have full occupancy in all accommodations. We would then be able to provide full as well as part-time employment for the persons who are out of work or underemployed in our community.
So remember to do your part in making tourism key for Anguilla. We must all be the instruments of change that we envision, and do what we can to move our nation forward. With God’s grace, we will continue to be inspired and diligently endeavour to create a sustainable tourism product to benefit all a’ we who reside here in our beloved Eastern Caribbean island!
Kay M. Ferguson is a Creative Professional Writer/Editor and a globetrotter who has visited a number of countries worldwide. She also served a brief stint as Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association. With her hands on experience hosting visitors from various nations, she is inspired to advocate for making Anguilla’s tourism everyone’s business.
To link with Kay, call her mobile 1.264.476.8735 or US landline 1.206.388.4848. You can e-mail her at anguillawriter@gmail.com. Send an e-message via www.facebook.com/kaymferguson or www.linkedin.com/kay-m-ferguson. Tweet #@kaykayferguson.
