There is much excitement at Blowing Point where the port, providing a significant sea-link between Anguilla and the neighbouring territories of St. Martin/St. Maarten and, of course, St. Barths, is being given a massive facelift.
Already, the reorganised and enhanced area is a picture of excellence and attraction and everybody, from the taxi-drivers to the ferryboat operators and porters, and from customs to immigration and security, is cooperatively falling in line with the number of new regulations.
It all has to do with the coming new tourism season and the desire of the island’s five and six star hotels to ensure that their guests are afforded a good and lasting first impression of Anguilla in terms of an attractive port of entry. For its part, the Government of Anguilla, wishing to see a booming tourism industry to sustain the economy, is only too glad to oblige.
The four Ministers of Government, Chief Minister, Victor Banks; Minister of Social Development, Evans McNiel Rogers; Minister of Home Affairs, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge and Minister of Infrastructure, Curtis Richardson visited the port several days ago. Mr. Curtis Richardson, the Elected Representative for Road South, where the busy passenger port is located, has taken the lead in the port enhancement project.
Mr. Richardson told The Anguillian: “We have made significant changes to the whole area outside the Blowing Point Ferry Terminal including improving the aesthetics of the area. When you exit you will be looking into a beautiful garden to the north and a paved landscaped area in time to come. The taxis are no longer parked at the entrance. They are now parked at the left and east of the area [away from the arriving passengers] and the taxis stand has also been moved. Upon entering the Blowing Point Port, persons have to stay directly to the left. No one is supposed to go down towards the Terminal Building, but to go to the eastern side of the terminal. There is supposed to be no congestion as the area is always to be kept clear and looking very pristine and proper. I think it is a massive improvement and I think it will serve the operations of the whole port area very well.”
Mr. Richardson disclosed that later on a new terminal building will be built west of the existing terminal which is also being modified. “This current terminal will especially serve the regular ferryboats and the new terminal will specifically serve the private charter boats going directly to the hotels,” he explained. “All the tourists will be coming here. There was a proposal to go to The Cove but, as you know, I am the Elected Representative for the Road South area and I could in no form or fashion consider taking the business and the development opportunities out of the Blowing Point Port area. It is not a consideration of mine, as the representative of this community, to take any sort of venture into The Cove regarding the ferryboat business which was actually started and pioneered in the Blowing Point community.”
Mr. Richardson was backed up by Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Banks who said in part: “What we are trying to do is to improve the visitor experience coming to Anguilla. Anguilla positions itself as a five star destination and we have to behave that way. We have to make sure that when they come here their visitor experience is not only at the hotel, but their entire experience coming into Anguilla.
“Because of the access situation in Anguilla, it is necessary for us to bring in a number of people via ferries from the Juliana Airport in St. Maarten. As a consequence it is necessary that we do a lot more to make that experience better. They have to transfer from the aircraft to the boats and when they come here we believe there is a lot more that can be done to enhance their experience. The five star and six star hotels in Anguilla want to make sure that our guests have that seamless five star, six star experience coming to Anguilla. It is our responsibility to make certain that our facilities are up to scratch, and we believe that in doing some improvements to the Ferry Terminal we will enable those hotels to be more comfortable in the way that they address some of these issues. That is what is happening now.”
Mr. Banks continued: “Four Seasons Resort & Residences has been the catalyst for this because Four Seasons wanted to have a dedicated access point to Anguilla which would mean a new port and a couple of other issues and logistics involved. They were prepared to pay for a number of these improvements. At the end of the day I think what we should be doing is improving the access and experience for all persons coming to Anguilla – so if we can do something to improve it for all persons, especially those persons who take a charter service to Anguilla, we have that kind of FBO arrangement so they do not necessarily have to enter the normal passenger flow. If they pay additional fees, they can have, for lack of a better word, VIP service coming into the destination.”
