The Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association (AHTA) has come away from its Annual General Meeting much encouraged by words of commendation and advice from one of Barbados’ leading hoteliers, Sue Springer. The expert hotelier, with 30 years in the industry, was the keynote speaker at the gathering at Cap Juluca on November 18.

After reviewing the status of tourism in the regional and international destinations, she was of the view that Anguilla had made amazing achievements. She pointed to hotel and villa development and an active Hotel and Tourism Association. She thought it was a good idea for the island to have embarked on a number of festivals and other events to attract tourists, and suggested that efforts should be made to develop other activities and programmes which would further the development of tourism on the island.

Ms. Springer took the opportunity to caution against over-development, citing certain cases in some islands. She also advised that Anguilla should continue to develop and maintain its own identity in the tourism industry, thus avoid following the steps taken by other destinations. She reported that she was delighted to have received a warm and memorable welcome on arriving at the airport in Anguilla and stressed the need for such warm and friendly greetings to be given to tourists in order for them to have a good Anguillian experience at the start of their visit.

President of the AHTA, Sherille Hughes, delivered some key areas of her annual report. “Despite the global economic challenges we face, the Association has enjoyed significant accomplishments in terms of stability, sustainability and growth; in terms of management and staff at the Secretariat, our membership and our financial position,” she reported.

“The AHTA continues to play a central role in supporting, promoting and marketing all aspects of Anguilla’s tourism industry through a range of activities. This includes involvement in the close-working relationship with the Anguilla Tourist Board, the Marketing Alliance and Tourism Week, working alongside our colleagues at the Board and the Ministry of Tourism. Despite the slow economy, we attracted 17 new members into the Association, giving us an overall total of 188 members.

“These new members range from mid-size accommodations and international companies to smaller businesses, serving the tourism community in all membership segments.”

Mrs. Hughes reported that the AHTA had developed partnerships with the Department of Disaster Management, the National Trust, Police and various non-government organisations. She also mentioned in some detail the AHTA’s affiliation with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, of which she is Third Vice President, and the need for members to involve themselves in the activities of the regional body.
The AHTA President expressed thanks and congratulations to Gilda Gumbs-Samuel, Executive Director, and Marslyn McDowall, Events Coordinator, for their hard work and commitment to the Association.

She emphasised that the AHTA was looking forward to another successful year and that members should work diligently to ensure that the results were positive. “To do this, members have to become more involved by supporting their Association," she went on. “We must be able to return to the right starting level of two full-time employees; solicit the assistance of volunteers to assist the secretariat; and membership incentive should be established, thereby realising our financial aims…The Absolutely Anguilla, the island’s most important piece of collateral material, must be revisited and re-introduced. This has to be done for a couple of reasons. It is a highly beneficial publication to the island and is a financial loss to the AHTA. Community outreach and influence must continue to improve and we must reach a wider audience, enabling the community to understand the relevance of the Association.”

The AHTA Executive Director also called for the Association to be involved with the Government in decision-making. She urged the establishment of various committees to work on specific projects of interest to the further growth of the AHTA.
The AHTA heard about the plans of Cape Air to commence scheduled flights to Anguilla from December 22. Gene Robinson, the airline’s Manager in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, held aloft the company’s in-flight magazine, featuring a Shoal Bay Beach scene and an article on Anguilla, as he spoke. The publication provides much publicity for the island in that it is being carried in all of the airline’s planes flying to 32 cities in the United States.

Mr. Robinson was delighted that Anguilla was Cape Air’s newest destination. He explained that the airline would provide two flights a day to the island, and that if there was a need to accommodate additional passengers, extra aircraft would be made available.

The list of speakers at the annual general meeting of the AHTAalso included Janine Edwards of Sunset Homes, who chaired it; Jasmin Garraway, consultant at the Ministry of Tourism, whose contribution related to the Tourism Master Plan for Anguilla; and Sharon Richardson of the Anguilla Community College, who spoke about the work of the institution and its usefulness to the hospitality sector.

In the elections that followed, three new members were added to the AHTA Board: Trudy Nixon, Jeff David and Delroy Lake. Others also on the Board are Sherille Hughes, Avon Carty, Bart van Deventer and Stephane Zaharia. It has been arranged for the various positions to be announced later.

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