Dr. Philip Heneghan
On Thursday, May 30, a sizeable number of tourism related personnel along with a few public service officials, to include three of the four legislators presently on the island, gathered at the Montserrat Cultural Centre. They were there at the invitation of the Tourism Board (MTB) to participate in the planning of a tourism strategy consultation on the design of the next phase of Montserrat’s Tourism Development Plan.
According to the MTB the consultation is part of the work programme for the elaboration of Phase 3 of the tourism development plan which has been commissioned, with the support of DFID (Britains Department for International Development). The study is being undertaken by a team of consultants from CHL Consulting, UK, with project director Dr. Philip Heneghan.
The purpose of the on-going consultation is to facilitate the tourism sector’s involvement in the formulation of a clear cut and comprehensive sustainable plan for tourism for the next three years, covering but not limited to the following:
- improving marketing and promotion
- development of on-island infrastructure and product
- visitor facilitation and improving industry standards
There were some brief remarks all pointing to the consultation which “will be key to the formulation of a plan reflecting the tourism industry’s views on the type of tourists Montserrat should attract, the enhancement of our environment and the optimization of the social and economic benefits to the Island…”
Angella Greenaway, Cabinet Secretary
Beverley Mendes, PS OPM
Cabinet Secretary, Mrs. Angela Greenaway said focus needs to be placed on some specific economical drivers in order to maintain sustainable development on Montserrat. “Sustainable development is used frequently and it is a very board term that is numinous with some degree of translation, as a process in which a society becomes self sufficient with the ability to provide for its people, the opportunities and basic necessity of life within a frame work of a stable and vibrant economy ensuring social equity and national self determination for future generation we therefore have a challenge before us and that is to restore Montserrat’s economy to the path of positive growth, getting the frame work for sustained development”, she said
DFID programme Representative for Montserrat Dr. Kato Kimbugwe reflected on the work DFID and the Government of Montserrat have been working on for the last 18 months. He said they have been working hard on developing a strategic growth plan for Montserrat. “The strategic growth plan is a series of investment that are supposed to facilitate and enhance economic growth in Montserrat with the particular aim of Montserrat graduating from budgetary aid in the next 15-20 years,” he insisted.
Dr Kato Kimbugwe, DFID representative
Kimbugwe conveyed that the strategic growth plan consists of a number of specific developments which include: looking at an investment in a port to address the access constraint which has always been a constraint on the growth of tourism in Montserrat; looking at investment in a tourist driven town that provides the infrastructure as well a centre for tourism development in Little Bay; and also looking at an investment in access as outlined in the access strategy which was publish at the begin of 2011, and which looks at finally trying to address the sea access constraint in terms of a ferry service to Montserrat. “Not just a ferry service where we have a service on a dual basis, but a service that provides the support to the hotel industry, supports the taxi industry and provides support for the general economy as a whole.”
The SGP he stressed also included HMG’s commitment to the exploration and development of geothermal energy already at its beginning stages.
Mrs. Elveta Chalmers, director of Montserrat Tourist Board in her brief remarks mentioned how pleased she was to see so many persons attending the inception consultation on the Development Plan 2012-2022. Mrs. Chalmers covered briefly the projects that took place in the two previous phases of the Plan, since it was approved in May, 2003 by the Government of Montserrat, she said “If we are to gain consensus on the way forward then tourism stake holders, public and private sector and those who rely directly or indirectly on the tourism industry should have a say in what they see as important to the sustainable survival of tourism and the overall economy.” Mrs. Chalmers concluded by informing that after the final draft of the Phase 3 design, it will be sent to DFID for the funding to implement the recommend project.
Project Team & Work Plan team leader Dr. Philip Heneghan from CHL Consulting in the United Kingdom further facilitated the consultation. This took the form of breakout sections where each group expressed their vision of where Montserrat should be in terms of tourism industry, and what needed to be done to achieve the vision.
