The lack of adequate airlifts within the Caribbean is hurting tourism arrivals in
Antigua and Barbuda from the regional travel market.
The disclosure comes from Chief Executive Officer of the Antigua and Barbuda
Tourism Authority (ABTA) Colin C. James, who said the Caribbean has not been
able to rebound from the impact of the pandemic, mainly because of the problems
with a reliable intra-regional airline service.
“There was a time when the Canadian and Caribbean markets were rivaling each
other to be the third most important market for Antigua and Barbuda. One year one
market will be up, only to be replaced by the other the following year. However,
while we are seeing a resurgence in arrivals from the Canadian market, the
Caribbean market has been slow to return to pre-pandemic levels and that’s
because of inadequate airlifts,” he reported.
He said this lack of dependable airline services has been hurting intra-regional
travel for some time.
“Recently there was a tourism conference in Dominica, and while the conference
itself was for one day, it took four days as you had to get there a day ahead and
stay much longer than normal because there were no flights available. We have
seen that the lack of airlifts means people just don’t travel, whether it’s for
Carnival, cricket, business, or for family events,” he remarked.
The CEO noted that LIAT 2020 is critical to solving the intra-regional travel
challenges that the region faces and that when these challenges are overcome there
will be a corresponding increase in intra-regional travel.
James is also mindful that Caribbean governments ought to rethink the taxes that
are placed on tickets for regional travel. “I want to say, and I think it is critical, that
with the resuscitation and revival of LIAT 2020, the taxes that governments place
on LIAT ought to be reduced. I would like these governments to eat a little less so
that we can eat a little longer. If you look at the price composition on a ticket for
LIAT you would see that bulk of it represented taxes to the various countries,” he
stated.
He revealed that the Antigua and Barbuda government gave a commitment to
reconsider the travel tax and he is urging all governments to either eliminate these
taxes or reduce them by fifty percent. “This would make it more affordable for
people to travel and more travel represents more revenues for all,” he declared.
