Why is intra-regional travel such a bogeyman?

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CARIBBEAN Tourism Organisation (CTO) Chairman Mr Richard Sealy made some solid points in his Christmas message to the region last week that we wish to highlight to our readers.

In addition to commending member countries, the CTO itself, and its private sector partners for their efforts in moving Caribbean tourism in the right direction, Mr Sealy also noted the British Government’s adjustment to its lopsided Air Passenger Duty (APD).

“Next April’s lowering of the tax changes from the four-band to a two-band system, which removes the unfair advantage that some competing destinations had over the Caribbean, and the removal of the tax on tickets for children under age 12 in the following month, will make travel to the Caribbean more affordable for families,” Mr Sealy noted.

That, we believe, is a useful start by London, and we can only hope that the British Government will see the wisdom of scrapping the tax altogether.

However, it was Mr Sealy’s comments on regional travel that got our attention most. He encouraged the region to use the Christmas season to recommit itself to realising the CTO vision of positioning the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm weather destination.

“Let’s call on the same determination and resilience with which we faced the downturn that began in 2008, to take action to promote the Caribbean as a single destination,” Mr Sealy said. “Let’s invoke our great spirit as Caribbean nationals to tackle the continuously vexing issue of the high cost and inconvenience of intra-Caribbean travel.”

This issue has, indeed, been controversial and has been the subject of a never-ending discussion by Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders who can’t seem to a final conclusion.

We recall very well that Mr Irwin LaRocque, the Caricom secretary general, last year addressed the issue frontally in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), stressing the necessity to find the solution to the transportation deficit but also his convinction that there was a real desire in the region to solve the issue at last.

“I think that we have to try to find a solution to the transportation problems that are plaguing us in the Community, not only in terms of inter-regional travel, but sometimes through the region. Our tourism depends on it, our trade and services…depend on transportation, so we have to find solutions to our issues,” he said.

However, he quite rightly pointed out that the problem would not be solved easily, given that “we have been talking about transportation and trying to find solutions for quite a while. It is probably one of the most difficult topics facing us in terms of our integration agenda”.

We find it extremely difficult to understand how it is that a region that relies so heavily on tourism and is so blessed with creativity and ingenuity cannot find a solution to this problem that has been frustrating travellers for years.

And it appears that we will be saddled with this problem until there is total buy-in to promote the Caribbean as a single destination. Until then, we will continue wringing our hands in despair.

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