Operators not ready to commit
Although U.S. tour operators have not yet signed on with packages and programs to Montserrat, some admit to being curious, and others have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, but its early yet.
We will keep an eye on it, but right now we have no plans to launch programs, said Mark Benson of Gogo Worldwide Vacations.
Continental Vacations has programs to nearby Antigua that support Continentals nonstop flights from the New York area.
A joint program or tie-in with Winair, which begins service to Montserrat on July 11, seems logical, but a Continental Vacations spokesman would say only that we look at all possible markets, vacation possibilities and opportunities to expand our offerings. We have nothing to announce at this time regarding Montserrat.
Greg Thorne, president of InterIsland Tours, cautioned that just because an airline starts service does not necessarily mean that passengers will come.
At this moment, Montserrat is not on our radar screen. Im not sure what major hotels are in place, and I would like to think that they have a strong marketing plan in place to coincide with the new flights, he said.
At Classic Custom Vacations, Mike Flory, vice president of product development, said his firm would consider adding Montserrat as long as we are confident that the entire experience meets our quality standards in air service, ground handling, accommodations, dining, activities and safety. It all comes down to the customer experience. -- G.N.M.
Its green, its mountainous and two-thirds
of it has been buried under volcanic ash since July 18, 1995, when
the Soufriere Hills Volcano spewed red-hot flows of lava and mud
down its southern flanks.
Yet, Montserrat,
a pear-shaped island the size of Manhattan, 25 miles southwest of
Antigua in the upper chain of the Leeward Islands, is on the move,
10 years after its lid blew off. And its the volcano that holds the
key to Montserrats rise from the ashes.
The island hosted
close to 8,000 stayover visitors last year. Montserrat Tourist
Board officials, who now are actively courting the overnight and
long-stay markets, optimistically project a visitor increase of up
to 10% each year, once marketing and promotion efforts take
off.
Daytrippers,
called excursionists by Montserrats bean counters, numbered 5,000
in 2004, most of them arriving by ferry on organized tours from
Antigua. That figure, too, could jump to 8,000 a year.
Will all the
hopes for good times ahead be realized?
Ernestine Cassell
says they will. Shes Montserrats director of tourism and a driving
force to kick-start tourism as a way to fill the void of the last
10 years.
Move On
Montserrat
Weve got a grand
promotion called Move On Montserrat and a three-year master plan to
get us on the map again in a positive way, she said.
The biggest boost
will take place on July 11, when the $18.5 million Geralds Airport
opens on Montserrats northeast coast to welcome Winairs four daily,
20-minute, 19-seater scheduled flights from nearby Antigua -- the
first such flights in 10 years.
As demand
increases, direct service from other islands will be added. The
original W. H. Bramble Airport is long since gone, buried under
layers of volcanic debris in the southern two-thirds of the island,
known as the Exclusion Zone.
To date, access
to Montserrat post-95 (every event on this island is described as
either pre-95 or post-95) has been limited to 90-minute ferry rides
from Antigua or expensive helicopter sightseeing fly-overs of the
island.
The opening of
Geralds Airport sends a huge message that Montserrat stands ready
to welcome visitors, show off our product and take our place on the
radar screen of Caribbean destinations, Cassell said.
This new air
bridge will allow us to introduce Montserrat to a huge segment of
travelers who might not have considered us as a vacation
destination.
The
air-conditioned terminal was dedicated in April by Britains
Princess Anne, who cut the ribbon, toured the island, hosted an
official reception in the courtyard of the 18-room Tropical
Mansions Suites in the hamlet of Sweeneys and caused a royal flurry
such as had not been seen by islanders in more than a
decade.
The momentum that
began with the royal visit will continue with the opening of the
airport and scheduled air service, Cassell said. We will seize the
momentum to move forward with our master plan and become a model
for other islands. We are starting with a clean slate.
Montserrat is the
way the Caribbean ought to be, the way the Caribbean used to be.
Thats the message well send to our visitors, she said.
National
Tourism Strategy and Plan
The three-year
strategy initiative, officially called the National Tourism
Strategy and Plan, seeks to rejuvenate and reposition Montserrats
tourism sector. It hinges on the governments initiatives for the
redevelopment and re-energizing of Montserrat, according to John A.
Osborne, chief minister and minister of tourism.
The main pillars
of the plan focus on intense marketing to promote Montserrats
nature adventures and scenery -- often compared with the lushness
of Ireland -- as well as its ecotourism offerings, sports
marketing, villa vacations, black-sand beaches and, of course, the
active volcano, certainly the prime sightseeing
attraction.
Our volcano is
our opportunity. Were sitting on a gold mine, and we need to take
advantage of this, Cassell said.
Ishwar Persad,
the tourist boards recently appointed marketing manager, said that
programs have been launched to boost awareness among islanders of
the importance of tourism.
These Host and
Community Awareness programs, which carry the slogan of Know it.
Love it. Show it, provide and train our people with information on
Montserrats history, geography, culture, government and places of
interest, Persad said.
We want to
promote standards of excellence among people directly or indirectly
involved in Montserrat s tourism industry.
Jadine
Glitzenhirn, the on-island coordinator of the awareness programs as
well as a tourism consultant and a guide offering customized island
tours, said the success of the training programs is critical
because our island has become a melting pot of cultures from an
influx of workers across the Caribbean basin.
Glitzenhirn, a
resident who ran the gift shop at the former airport, left the
island for a few years in the late 90s and returned in
2000.
As president of
Montserrats Tour and Taxi Association, which she formed,
Glitzenhirn symbolizes the resilience of the people on her
island.
We had to adapt
after the volcano. We had to learn that with the little we have
left, we move forward, she said.
Moving forward means
creating a new capital city in place of Plymouth, whose ghostly
remains resemble a modern-day Pompeii. Port Little Bay, up the
coast in the Safe Zone where the ferry from Antigua now docks, is
beginning to take on the semblance of an organized
settlement.
The dirt road
from the ferry dock, lined with vendors selling tamarind juice and
postcards of the volcano, leads to Brades, the new center of
commerce and government on Montserrat.
A large cultural
center and an arts and crafts market are under construction near
Brades, and all over the Safe Zone sprout new villages carrying
names like Dick Hill, Jack Boy Hill, David Hill and
Lookout.
A work in
progress
Signs of progress
are evident. A second Catholic school has been built, stores
selling computer parts have opened, the National Trust has carved
out hiking trails in the north and music groups perform at CB,
Montserrats only nightclub.
Still, Montserrat
has no movie theater or stoplights, one air-conditioned restaurant
and many simple take-away food stands. Its rutted roads kick up
layers of dust in the dry season, and steep twists and turns
present real challenges.
There are several
car-rental outlets, but most day visitors opt for a tour bus and
guide.
If Montserrats
promotional programs prove as successful as tourism interests here
hope, it wont be long before the roads are top-notch and, who
knows, there might even be a movie theater to go to.
Information please: Montserrat
The Emerald
Isle of the Caribbean is known for lush vegetation, historical
links to Ireland and the resilience of its people in the face of
disaster.
Montserrat is a
British overseas territory, headed by a chief minister with an
appointed cabinet of ministers and a legislature elected by popular
vote.
English is the
official language, often spoken with an Irish brogue, a heritage
left by the early settlers.
The population
of 4,700 is less than half of the pre-95 figures (before the first
of two eruptions in the 1990s).
The departure
tax is $17; the national currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar,
but U.S. greenbacks are widely accepted at a set rate of E.C. $2.70
= U.S. $1. Very few businesses accept credit cards, so cash is a must.
Tourist
information is available at www.visitmontserrat.com.
To contact
reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].