p10-11 Antigua may15 27/5/09 20:19 Page 11
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EYEWITNESS.
Friendly words
on the street
I REMEMBER driving a hire car
around Antigua in 2007; I was
more worried about getting
lost than anything else, writes
Sara Macefield.
As on previous visits, worries
over my personal safety didn’t
enter my head. The locals were
friendly, offering directions if they saw me
poring over the road map.
As a tourist wandering the streets of
St John’s (below) on that trip, and again as a
cruise passenger in April last year, I felt com-
pletely comfortable. Even when I was the only
tourist among crowds of locals, no one batted
an eyelid and there was none of the resentment
you can sometimes sense on other islands.
Returning to Antigua earlier this month, I
was keen to see what the atmosphere was like.
Taxi drivers assured me recent crimes had
been a blip and had since fallen after the
perpetrators were apprehended – but one
cabbie then rather ruined this by telling me
how his cousin had been shot dead the previous
Getty Images day after challenging an intruder.
was moved here after sandy-pitch problems at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium led to it being dubbed “Antigua’s 366th beach” When I visited St John’s, the capital was quiet
and there weren’t many tourists as no cruise
James admits he has a big job to repair also owns the Galley Bay and St James’s Club ships were calling that day.
Antigua’s image, but he hopes such concerted resorts. These are popular with the 90,000 But despite that, I saw police officers
action makes a good start. “The brand has British visitors who visit Antigua each year, patrolling the streets and other security
taken a beating and Antigua has taken a hard but Barrett says the UK market is struggling. personnel stationed by Heritage Quay.
knock,” he concedes. “The problem lies not in the occupancy but I didn’t feel that I needed them – the locals
“The tourism industry is all we have, and we yields, which are 15% down,” he says. were as friendly as ever – but it was good to
must protect it and make it safe, not just for know they were there.
our visitors but the people who live here too.” Down but not out
When I visited Carlisle Bay earlier this month,
Highs and lows it was less than 25% full. Resort manager
After renowned hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray Jonathan Reynolds said high season numbers
opened the ultra-chic Carlisle Bay hotel in were “slightly down” on last year but the low
2003, Antigua’s fortunes were on a roll. season was more challenging.
Since then other properties such as Sandals The hotel hopes its latest special offers will
Grande Antigua and Elite Island Resorts’ help to drum up business this summer.
eco-friendly Verandah hotel have opened. Its hopes are shared by the new tourism
But the worldwide recession is taking its toll, authority which, despite the backdrop of politi-
and Antigua has been hit hard following the cal rows following the island’s controversial
high-profile collapse of billionaire financier Sir elections and concerns over the pitch at the
Allen Stanford’s empire, which was the largest flagship Sir Vivian Richards cricket stadium, is
private-sector employer on the island. determined to put recent troubles behind it.
Elite chairman Rob Barrett admits conditions The first step on the road to recovery is
are “challenging” and cannot envisage much of reassuring travellers that Antigua offers a safe
an improvement in the next few years. Elite – as well as a warm – welcome.
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