Just fresh from witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the retirement village at Shoal Bay, Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor, expressed delight with the recovery efforts in Anguilla, and the way forward for the island.
Speaking in a brief interview with The Anguillian newspaper, Mr. Connor had this to say: “I am very pleased, at this point, with what we have achieved following Hurricane Irma. I think it has very much been a team effort. We have to give a lot of credit to the Government of Anguilla, the British Government and to our new Governor, Mr. Tim Foy. I thought he was very instrumental about understanding the needs of Anguilla.
“If you take tourism apart, the fact that we were able to get electricity to the western end – or throughout Anguilla – before Christmas, is a major accomplishment. That is something that most people thought was impossible because the prediction was not before March, 2018. To have achieved that was very much like saying that if we get it right for our people here in Anguilla, we are likely to get it right for our visitors as well.
“A number of our institutions involved in tourism have gone out of the way to make this happen. I think they, and all of us, understand the importance that tourism means for Anguilla – the economic and the social benefits. This includes the fact that a number of our people are involved directly or indirectly in tourism, and if our people are happy then the impression or energy given to our visitors is nothing but positive.”
Mr. Connor went to speak, in particular, about the western end of the island where he is the elected representative. “In my constituency, I must give a great deal of credit to the smaller hotels or villas which have been ready for the Christmas season,” he said. “I think we were very fortunate that we got some decent rainfall which meant that Anguilla was green again and looking healthy. A number of the small hotels, such as Frangipani, Carimar, and Blue Waters, as well as a number of restaurants, including Picante, Trattoria Tramonto, and Jacular, came forward and delivered. As a result, we were able to offer something for the Christmas season.”
