It is air travel that is the “invisible bridge” that ensures the survival and success of island destinations.
And this singular focus brought more than 150 delegates from across the Atlantic and Caribbean to the island of Bermuda on Tuesday.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Air Connectivity Summit kicked off at the Hamilton Princess Hotel in Bermuda and brought together stakeholders from the wider region, from Ministers of Tourism to airline executives from companies such as Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue and InterCaribbean.
For island nations, air connectivity is more than just a travel convenience, it is “the oxygen of our economy and the bridge that connects our shores to global markets,” Bermuda Tourism Minister Owen Darrell said in his opening remarks.
Without it, he said, “the vibrant fabric of our culture would remain hidden from the world.”
Air travel remains the most important component of tourism, the dominant economic driver in the Caribbean, and this week’s summit is a welcome step in putting air travel at the forefront of the regional conversation.
It has come to the Atlantic islands that continue to transform shared cultural and historical relationships into deeper economic and political relationships with the islands of the Caribbean region.
“We are more than 900 miles away from our nearest Caribbean neighbor, but that distance is only geographical,” Darrell said. “It is not, and we cannot ignore our deep family ties – our vibrant Afro-Caribbean pulse or the immense pride we have in our heritage. The ancestry of the majority of Bermudian families is a map of the West Indies that extends all the way to the Jamaican coast of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
Bermuda will rejoin the Caribbean Tourism Board in 2023, embarking on a new effort to strengthen ties with the Caribbean and further collaborate with conduits for the region’s travel industry.
Erin Wright, chief operating officer and acting CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Board, said Bermuda faces the same tourism trends as the Caribbean, including seasonality, changing demand patterns, rising costs and changing traveler expectations.
And summits like this are essential to driving sustained airlift.
“We rely on strong, ongoing airline partnerships to maintain accessibility and integrity. These partnerships are important,” she said.
The summit took place at a “critical moment,” Dona Regis Prosper, CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Board, told attendees.
“Global travel is changing. Airlines’ priorities are evolving. Airlift competition is fierce,” she said. “But connectivity is not a luxury. It is our lifeline. If you are not connected, you are not competitive. That is why this summit is important.”
