Whereas most delegates at the Caribbean Hotel and Investment Conference in Trinidad reported no negative effects on travel to the Caribbean, the Hon. Glen Beache, minister of tourism, youth and sports for St. Vincent and The Grenadines, told Travel Agent his destination is experiencing a drop due to the struggling U.S. economy.
In a one-on-one interview, Beache told us that the destination has suffered a 4 percent drop from this time last year. Whereas that number is still considerably low, Beache says it’s all relative. “A 4 percent drop for us is like a 20 percent drop everywhere else,” he said. “We are a small destination, so 4 percent is a lot. There’s really nothing we can do at this point expect wait for the U.S. economy to hopefully get better.” But help is on the way as construction will begin next month on St. Vincent and The Grenadines’ first international airport. It is expected to be completed by 2011. “We need better airlift, so we think when we have the airport, travel will be booming again,” he said.