The Hon. Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor, just back from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Conference in New York, has spoken highly about the CTO’s role in the tourism industry in Anguilla and other islands – and his delight in serving his homeland in such a capacity.
“For me, it is extra special because for a number of years, in my previous professional career as a cricketer, each time I walked from the playing field in England, Australia or anywhere else around the world, I felt as if I was representing my island,” he recalled. “Having worked in the tourism industry [in Anguilla] for the past twenty-four years, and to be given the portfolio for tourism is something, like sports, that I am very comfortable with.
“What I found is that in that environment [the CTO Conference], with Caribbean Ministers of Tourism and other representatives of the industry, the various islands face similar challenges. Even though we are competing for the same clientele, there is still something that says that we are working together. The fact is that when there is a positive or a negative that affects the Caribbean, it affects all of us. Being in that environment was a great responsibility and again, as time goes on, I intend to grow much more within that capacity.”
Mr. Connor went on: “The CTO is an organisation that all the Caribbean islands contribute to and it is almost the governing body of the tourism industry. It goes out there and helps with a lot of the research that would affect the Caribbean nations, bring them together and feed as much information as possible to the different islands. It is a case of one family working together. As I said already, although we may be seen as competing for the same clientele, we are also working together in order to make the Caribbean a number one region for tourism throughout the world.
“The CTO meeting was pretty much about workshops, brain-storming sessions and also a case of showcasing your island’s packages for weddings [and regular visits]. At one event there were about 150 couples looking for a destination for their weddings or honeymoons. It gave us in Anguilla a chance to display or provide what we can offer – whether it is just for a couple or a larger wedding party. It went over pretty well.”
Mr. Connor expressed the view that the CTO is vitally important to Anguilla. “A lot of information is in there for an island like ours,” he added. “We rely on them to inform us as what the trends are – for instance: the number of Spanish people living in the US who travel; and the number of Asians – whether Chinese who like to travel. The big things for them are shopping and gaming. We don’t offer gaming in Anguilla, but at least we offer golf. So it gives us an opportunity to find out what is current happening in the world of tourism, and the CTO’s responsibility is to garner all of that information and feed it to its members and, of course, Anguilla is one of those members.”
