Anguilla: A meeting was held on Wednesday between Anguillan Tourism officials and local agents of cruise ships to discuss the promotion of the island as a destination for high-end cruise lines and some of the planned activities for the visitors, according to a report in the Anguillan.
The meeting was presided over by Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Haydn Hughes, along with Director of Tourism, Candis Niles, and Member of the Tourist Board, Oliver Mac Donna. Among the others was Anguilla’s Marketing Representative for the North American market in New York, Marie Walker, who gave an update on her discussions with cruise line officials in Puerto Rico and the United States.
Mrs. Walker told The Anguillian afterward that efforts were being made to generate a heightened interest in Anguilla among operators of high-end cruise ships in Puerto Rico and the US. “There is a tremendous interest in the destination as people continue to look for new experiences, and there is an opportunity for expansion on the St. Maarten cruise itinerary for Anguilla, to be included,” she stated. “We have also been hand-picking very high-end cruise lines to visit Anguilla and take their very high disposal income to the island so that they can enjoy not just the beaches but the heritage. We have a lot of opportunities coming, and we have packages that we have already put together including our restaurants and many attractions on the island.”
Mr. Hughes said the Ministry of Tourism had advised Mrs. Walker that there was a need for her to pursue high-end cruise ships as a means of attracting more visitors to Anguilla. “She has done tremendous work, and attended the FCC meeting in Puerto Rico in October 2011 and got a great deal of feedback. As a result, we have an increase in cruise ships coming to Anguilla,” he stated.
“We have reached out to the cruise ships out of St. Maarten and a lot of day trippers will be coming from there as well. We convened this meeting, relative to cruise ships, with all the agents in Anguilla to hear their concerns, and to see how we can partner together in enhancing the experience of not only the agents, but more so, the passengers on these cruises ships. The interest of these passengers is important as other guests or tourists coming to Anguilla.”
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