Antigua and Barbuda nationals are benefitting significantly from the country’s hosting of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Tourism Marketplace at the AUA Conference Centre.
Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez said the major event is creating significant economic activity across many sectors of society, with several local entities mounting booths at the event. These include accommodation, transportation, and restaurants.
“What is also important to me is that we have some twenty-two local entities participating; that is really impressive. We have delegates from fifteen Caribbean countries with more than eight hundred persons attending from abroad. This has been very impressive, and we are thrilled with the feedback we are getting from everyone. They are even saying we should do it again, and that’s a great compliment for our team from the ABTA,” he noted.
The tourism minister also revealed that locals control a fairly large stake of the tourism industry. “Many persons may not realize it, but our locals control roughly 2,000 of the available rooms in the country. These are short-term rental rooms that they control. Yes, they may not be able to put up US\$100 million to build a luxury property, but collectively, our people control more than fifty percent of the room stock—and that’s something about which we should all be very proud,” he stated.
According to Fernandez, the government has rolled out several incentives, including making loans available through the Entrepreneurial Development Fund to finance tourism and other projects.
In addition to the involvement of locals, the country continues to attract foreign direct investments, such as the One and Only development earmarked for Half Moon Bay, which is set to commence shortly.
Since Antigua and Barbuda successfully hosted last year’s SIDS4 conference, many in the industry are now looking differently at the country as it makes a concerted push to attract more of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) segment of the tourism industry.
The recent implementation of the paperless ED card has led to seamless interactions with both immigration and customs, further enhancing the country’s overall reputation.
