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Friday 13 July 2018

The big To-Do about failing Caribbean airlift

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

In the past three weeks, politicians
and industry leaders at a number of
summits in the Caribbean have ex-
pressed the urgent need for better
air connections and more reason-
able prices. Sorry folks. That’s an
old hat to say the least. There may
even be a skeleton in the closet.

In 2007, Ministers of Civil Aviation
in the Caribbean and other tour-
ism and travel officials drafted the
‘San Juan Accord’, which called
for regional officials to put in place
the policy framework that would
make intra-Caribbean travel for
airlines less expensive and more
competitive in terms of attracting
investment.

In 2012, at the annual Caribbean
Hotel and Tourism Investment Con-
ference, industry experts made it
clear that the lack of airlift within
the region represents a missed op-
portunity for Caribbean tourism,
“There is no Caribbean govern-
ment anywhere that can ignore
the difficulties that face airlift in
the region,” said the then Minis-
ter of Tourism of St.Kitts. “What we
are saying at the CTO (ed. Carib- lem is, we have not implemented the ‘snooze button’. Snoozing be-
bean Tourism Organisation) is that What was suggested in 2012 as what we ourselves agree needs to fore officially getting out of bed is
all Caribbean governments need hope for action ‘in the next few be done.” In other words, let’s just a pretty standard practice. To give
to create a forum that can really months’ takes six years and shows call it a lot of ‘um diddle diddle um some background on the biology
bring these issues to the table. It no results. The Director General diddle ay’ and no action. of sleep. About an hour before
is my hope that over the next few and CEO of the Caribbean Hotel eyes actually open, the body be-
months there will be certain oppor- and Tourism Association (CHTA) at As for industry organizations in 2018 gins to ‘reboot.’ The brain sends out
tunities that will be used.” the time commented: “The prob- warning for the impact of raising signals to release hormones, the
passenger taxes? At that same body temperature rises, and one
2012 Conference, the then Presi- enters into a lighter sleep in prepa-
dent of the CHTA said that he no- ration for the wake-up. So, the cur-
ticed new policies for taxing not rent big ‘To-Do’ about passenger
only the private sector, but also taxes may very well be considered
our visitors directly, and that these no more than ‘the preparation for
masquerade under such names as a wake-up’. Yet, snoozing six years
airport improvement taxes, tour- could also be considered a coma
ism enhancement fees, and airline and one may question whether
passenger duty. He believed that there will be an actual rise-and-
increased taxation is regressive, re- shine to remove or reduce taxes.
sulting in less revenue for the hotel After all, any Government will be
and attraction sector. He urged very hesitant to give up a cash-
governments to make a “serious cow.
effort” to review their taxation poli- At an industry conference in 2017,
cies on the tourism industry and the tourism expert consultant and
said: “It is now time to remove or former Minister of Tourism and
reduce all excessive consump- Aviation of the Bahamas, Vincent
tion taxes. Our industry is based on Vanderpool-Wallace called the
competitive pricing. Our visitors will implementation of the taxation
simply choose other destinations.” ‘committing economic suicide
without doing it’.
The alarm clock rang already in
2012, but apparently someone hit Continued on Page 14