Rising Cost of Air Travel tops Minister Skerritt’s Agenda at emergency Tourism meeting

Staff Reporter-SKNVibes.com

Hon. Richard Skerritt, Minister of State responsible for Tourism and Vice Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)

“Everywhere is at risk,” the Minister stated in an exclusive interview with this media house, “it is just a matter of each country assessing their own specific risk.”

Skerritt stated that the decision to call the emergency session resulted from a discussion he had with Senator Allen Chastanet, St. Lucia’s Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the CTO, two weeks ago in Miami.

“The price of fuel for airlines has risen 40 per cent already this year and 90 per cent in the past twelve months. What Senator Chastanet wants to do in this meeting is to look at this very serious problem from a regional perspective, to develop a more sustained commitment to the regional brand,” said Skerritt.

A report from BBC Caribbean stated last week that, “[American Airlines] Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey said that flights from New York and Miami to unidentified Caribbean destinations are likely to be considered for the chop” as fuel prices continue to put the crunch on his company. ~~Adz:Right~~

According to Skerritt, the CTO hosted meeting this week is an important first step in circumventing what could be a much larger threat to the St. Kitts & Nevis economy in the future if some of the nation’s flights happen to be on the cancellation list.

“If some airlines cut their flights, you will see ticket prices go up,” said the Minister. “The issue then becomes brining the demand for the Caribbean brand up to maximum capacity. We need to make it so a person wants to visit the Caribbean even if the ticket price is higher than other destinations.

“That is why Senator Chastanet said it is important that there be a larger focus on regional funding for tourism. We must first be able to interest travelers in coming to the Caribbean and then we can talk about drawing them into St. Kitts & Nevis,” he added.

Chastanet told gathered media on May 18th that two of the biggest issues on the emergency meeting’s agenda would be obtaining a larger financial commitment to Caribbean marketing from countries in the region and also broadening the marketing plan to more than “sun, sea and sand”.

It was made clear by Skerritt that his Ministry is well aware of the issues facing the Caribbean and that there is much work to be done in order to ensure the sustainability of the tourism in the Federation.

“We are actively engaged in discussions with the airlines at this moment and will be trying our best to prevent any losses we can,” he stated.

In addition to the May 29th meeting, it has been asserted by some analysts that regional marketing will be the lead issue of the tourism ministers at their scheduled meeting on July 1st, a preemptive session to the regular meeting of the CARICOM heads of government, which will be hosted in Antigua from July 2nd-5th.