In addition to marketing Anguilla for its hospitality and friendliness, it is also being publicised as a Christian community – a characteristic that has also found itself embedded in the tourism industry and cultural life of the island.
It was with that recognition that one of the prime activities for Tourism Week 2016 was a church service at the Life Impact Center ,on the West End road, where the preacher was Apostle Lucien McDonna.
Not only was the service well-attended by the regular members of the congregation, but also by many members and staff of the Anguilla Tourism Board and the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association. The visiting hospitality group took the opportunity to engage in a highly rhythmic singing performance that fetched a standing ovation for them.
The singers included the Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor; Chairperson of the Tourist Board, Ms. Donna Banks; and Executive Director of the Hotel and Tourism Association, Mrs. Gilda Gumbs-Samuel.
Apostle McDonna, a one-time caterer to the tourism industry, while engaged in the ministry of his church, spoke largely on changing attitudes. He told The Anguillian: “I think my message I shared was in connection with governing ourselves on the inside so that we can become successful in our attitudes to arrive at a better position nationally. I pointed out that we, as a people, must change in this global economy. If we want to build our country and tourism and bring about financial stability, for example, we cannot continue in the same status quo. There are some things we must change. I am afraid that Anguillians are not ready for change because many of us are still stuck in our old mentality. We also need to understand how God works in times like these [in order to succeed]”.
Tourism Week 2016 will climax on Friday evening, December 2, with the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Gala and Awards Ceremony at da’Vida Restaurant.
