Somewhere near Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the USA (Wednesday, 5th February 2014) — This week I’m off island and will be away for quite some time. I probably won’t return to Da Rock until mid to late April. Though I’m not at present in my usual location of North Side Village, I want to keep on composing my opinion editorials to inspire us to greater heights in living life.
The quiet space that I usually have for writing in my humble abode on Anguilla has changed to writing in my friend’s greenhouse garden in South Florida. Her garden is enclosed in what Floridians call a Florida room which is a screened in gallery or enclosed porch extending off of the living room space. There are lots of green and flowering plants including my favourite ones, orchids and crotons.
I’m on the road travelling in North America having an adventure with some leisure time to play and relax. My journey will take me across the United States from the southeast coast to the Pacific Northwest region and eventually on to the Hawaiian Islands in the great Pacific Ocean. I’ll be visiting family and friends in the states of Florida, Washington and California before going on holiday to Maui, Hawaii, with my mother and youngest sister.
The theme for this op-ed article is entitled “On the Road Again Travelling Stories” because I believe that we need to raise our conscious awareness regarding travelling as a form of education. Everyone ought to be encouraged to travel and see what it’s like to be a tourist.
Travelling helps us to understand the tourism industry and the global tourism market. It gives us an appreciation of various cultures and what countries in other parts of the world have to offer. Furthermore, it’s an educational experience that will open our eyes and ears to new opportunities.
In travelling, we learn more about ourselves as well as others. We learn to appreciate what we have at home and what we discover abroad.
How we connect with people during our travels
Much to my surprise, this trip had some unexpected gifts connecting with people I hadn’t anticipated meeting during my travels. I met Her Excellency the Governor of Anguilla, Ms Christina Scott, at Princess Juliana International Airport on Sunday, 2nd February. The Governor and I were both booked on the same American Airlines flight flying from Sint Maarten to Miami, Florida. We had a brief chat before boarding the aeroplane.
Ms Scott told me that she would be attending a meeting of the Governors from the Caribbean. She said it was a short turn around trip and she would be back on island in the Governor’s Office by Tuesday afternoon. We didn’t sit together on the plane but, interestingly, we were in the same lane going through US Customs in Miami where we spoke briefly again. Then we were both off to our different destinations.
I am always amazed by how spirit guides me to meet certain people whilst travelling. On rare occasions I encounter someone whom I actually am acquainted with. So it was an immense treat for me to see the Governor during my travels. At other times, I meet individuals whom I have never met before.
Last Sunday was a prime example of meeting new acquaintances. I just happened to exchange a few words with an amiable couple (Peggy and Steve from near Champagne, Illinois, in the USA). They were standing in front of me in the Customs line at Miami International Airport. The lady overheard me telling the Governor that I wasn’t getting connected to a network on my mobile. She graciously offered me the use of her cellular phone to call my girlfriend, Ms Juliet E. Ceesay, who was picking me up and alert her that I’d arrived and was coming through Customs.
Encouraging travellers to visit Anguilla
So I took the opportunity to engage in small chat with Steve and Peggy asking them where they had been travelling. The couple had visited Sint Maarten and, naturally, I asked if they had come over to Anguilla. When they said that they hadn’t, I went into my tourism PR mode. I proceeded to tell Steve and Peggy about our beautiful Tranquillity Wrapped in Blue island and invited them to visit Anguilla saying I’d be glad to be their personal tour guide.
Of course, I gave the friendly Americans my contact details including US landline and Anguilla mobile numbers, plus email addresses. The wife asked if I was on Facebook and I gave her the link to my timeline page. Hopefully, we will connect via social media which will give me another chance to inspire them to come visit our island the next time they choose a Caribbean destination vacation.
Ways to personally market Anguilla
The encounter with this travelling pair gave me the brilliant idea that I must get some business calling cards to hand out to those whom I meet on the road. That way no one has to search for pen and paper to write down personal contact information. On the cards, I can have a tag line promoting tourism for Anguilla. It’s just another marketing and public relations tool to utilise and, hopefully, which will inspire others to visit our glorious Leeward Island set in the grandeur of the Caribbean Sea.
All of us can find ways to actively participate in marketing Anguilla whilst we reside on island or when we travel away. Why not join one of the Tourism Working Groups? The groups (East End, Central and West End) were developed as a part of the Government of Anguilla’s Master Tourism Plan. Before I left for my travels, I attended a meeting of the East End Tourism Working Group held on Wednesday, 29th January, at the Vivien Vanterpool Primary School in Island Harbour.
Ms Jasmin Garraway, who is a consultant working with the Ministry of Tourism, invited me to the meeting and encouraged me to become a part of the group’s initiatives to promote tourism in the eastern part of the island. She asked if I’d be willing to volunteer my writing talents towards this endeavour and I agreed to do so. I’m delighted to say that it was quite a productive presentation and discussion with many persons expressing their ideas regarding the proposed Maritime Heritage Centre. The centre is designed to showcase Anguilla’s rich seafaring history.
Developing tourism projects
Many individuals such as myself have volunteered our services to assist with the development of this historical boating and fishing industry facility. Whether it’s our construction building skills or musical talents, chef’s competencies or organisational abilities, everyone present seemed to genuinely want to become more involved with the development of the maritime centre.
Although I will be away from the Anguilla community for two to three months, I hope to stay connected with the tourism group’s progress via Internet and to contribute to the work remotely in cyberspace. Perhaps I may even be called upon to prepare a few concisely written brochures to market the tourism project. We shall see how the divine universe decides to utilise my skills and talents that will benefit our efforts to promote Anguilla’s tourist sites, particularly those in the eastern part of the island.
The ideas mentioned above are just a couple of ways to inspire each one of us to get involved, to be a part and to play an active role in promoting travel and leisure tourism for Anguilla. I’m sure that there are an infinite number of ways we can all join in and help build a better future for ourselves and our nation. We just need to think of what we can do and act on the ideas that come forth.
Make travel a part of your yearly plans
I encourage everyone to make sure he or she travels as much as possible to see what the world has to offer. Travelling allows us to refresh ourselves as well as to relax and rejuvenate. When we travel, we are able to create opportunities to learn more about this amazing planet on which we live.
Being tourists aids us in better understanding the tourism market and gives us a greater appreciation of what our island has to offer visitors. We must all do our part in making tourism key for Anguilla. And we must remember to partake in travelling as an educational endeavour that will help us to exponentially develop our inner selves.
Even if we don’t have the funds to actually travel, we can always use our vivid imaginations to imagine where we would like to be. We can view travel programmes on the television or surf the web to learn more about the places that someday we hope to visit. Talking with people who have visited, or who are from the countries that we would like to visit, is a great way to learn more.
As I have always said, we must all be the instruments of change that we envision, and do what we can to move our nation forward. May God’s divine grace continue to inspire us to work together towards creating a sustainable tourism product that will benefit all a’ we who reside on Anguilla!
Kay M. Ferguson is a freelance writer and a globetrotter who has visited a number of countries across the planet. In 2009, she served a brief stint as Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association. With her hands on experience travelling and living abroad as well as hosting visitors from various nations, she is inspired to advocate for all to experience worldwide travels and to make Anguilla’s tourism everyone’s business.
To link with Kay whilst she is on the road, 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. On Twitter: @kaykayferguson.
