One of the drawbacks which is affecting the tourism industry in Anguilla, and which the Government is continuing to address, is access to the island.
The Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor, has commented on the issue while speaking with The Anguillian. “One of our challenges is access to the island,” he stated. “It always has been a challenge. Times have been easier for us but I think in recent times, since LIAT pulled out of the Northern Caribbean including Anguilla, St. Thomas and other neighbouring islands, it has made access more difficult for us. But recently we have had a helicopter service out of Antigua which has now gone to more like a charter service.”
He went on: “What the Government is hoping now is that by working with Trans-Anguilla we will bring some improvement to the situation, and we are looking to give this local airline as much support as possible. It is always better to support your own because the chances are they are not going anywhere and, as they grow, Anguilla will grow also.
“When people are leaving home, they want to know that they can get from point A to point B as quickly as possible and as hassle-free as possible. That obviously continues to be a challenge for us but, as we look forward, as a Government, we are hoping to get an expansion of the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport to have easier access to Anguilla. It might be a couple of years down the road, but unless you start the journey you would never finish. I believe that as we sell Anguilla to visitors we should say that, although it is difficult to access our island now, it is worthwhile to visit us. In the future, we want to make that access easier for them.”
Mr. Connor explained that the Government had meetings with representatives from both Trans-Anguilla and Anguilla Air Service. “We met with them to see what they can do. As Government, we have to make sure that our visitors can get to Anguilla and to our hotels, villas and inns,” he said. “It is not a case where people can drive to Anguilla. They have to fly to St. Maarten and take a boat to Anguilla, so it is a case of asking our local airlines what they can do, rather than for us to look outside of Anguilla to other carriers. It is better to look from within.
“What came out of that meeting is that Trans-Anguilla will take up the mantle and move forward while Anguilla Air Service said they would do what they can to assist in making access to the island more accessible. At the moment, Trans-Anguilla is doing a chartered service out of Antigua as well as out of St. Kitts [for in-transit passengers to Anguilla travelling on British Airways and other international airlines]. Anguilla Air Service, at the moment, is mainly servicing the Anguilla/St. Maarten route, occasionally St. Kitts, and also further down the island chain especially on chartered services.”
Meanwhile, many visitors to Anguilla travel by Anguillian-owned ferryboats operating in St. Martin/St. Maarten. Among other access services, Seaborne Airlines provide scheduled flights between Puerto Rico and Anguilla and Sunshine Airlines between St. Thomas and Anguilla. In addition, private jets fly travellers to Anguilla on direct flights from various parts of the United States in particular.
The Anguilla Government is hoping that, with an expanded airport in due course, large passenger airlines, like Jet Blue, which currently links up with Seaborne, will provide direct flights to Anguilla from the US mainland.
