– asks help to ‘grow’ intra-regional travel

A CALL has been made for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to intervene on issues affecting travel within the Caribbean.

At the same time, Julie Reifer-Jones, the Chief Executive Officer of regional airline LIAT, impressed upon participants at the ongoing ICAO Air Transport Meeting here that the decline in intra-regional travel needs to be examined urgently, as tourism is vital for the economies of the Caribbean.

Reifer-Jones, who spoke during Thursday morning’s session aimed at exploring practical ways to develop “a smart product mix”, said that the mere idea that there are little or no policy measures geared specifically to boosting intra-regional travel is playing havoc with airline numbers, a problem that is not only unique to LIAT as people like to think.

So as to give an idea as to how LIAT is faring these days, Reifer-Jones said that at the moment it transports just around 750,000 passengers within the region, which is a dramatic decline from the 1.2M passengers it did in the past.

Another “big concern” for regional travellers, she said, is the inhibitive cost factor, especially the taxes, which is putting a damper on the demand for travel.
She said that in most cases when taxes are introduced, they tend to be very substantial when they take effect. “So this is really a difficult issue for the governments; for the airports. But I think it is something that we have to find a way to address,” Reifer-Jones said, adding:
“We need to acknowledge that the taxes are too high, and to get an agreement from the governments to reduce the taxes to some level.”

Another significant ease-of-travel issue, which she said some describe as an “irritant” when travelling across the Caribbean region, is security. “Our passengers, on average, given the nature of our network, have at least two stops,” she said.

Reifer-Jones said that if there are “issues” at the stops, then it would not be a good experience for the traveller.

She said that many of the issues need to be addressed with some urgency, and although there were assurances given at the conference, the big question is, when, as the issue has been on the front burner some time now.

As she told participants, some changes were implemented during the 2007 International Cricket Council World Cup. “Then we just reverted.”

She said that interestingly enough, some airlines are of the view that it is because of the ICAO that the changes cannot be made. As such, she is suggesting that the international umbrella body become more involved in that conversation to ensure that whatever measures need to be put in place are done in earnest.

She feels that measures should be put in place to make travel grow within the region, and as such called on the governments of the region to support initiatives through direct funding geared at improving the situation.

“So, this is an appeal,” she said, “because we need to ensure that all the territories come on board in recognising the importance of intra-regional travel.”

During her presentation, Reifer-Jones told the gathering that there is need for a broader approach in linking regional air transport with tourism. She also said that multi-destination travel should not be an idea, but rather an action item. “Visitors to the region want it,” she said.

She reiterated that there is need for an acknowledgment from the relevant stakeholders that intra-regional travel contributes to the growth of tourism within the region. She said, too, that there should be support from all the regional territories, as opposed to only four who support the regional airlines.

Besides air transport and tourism, the presentations on Day Two of the conference, which ends today, also focused on stimulating investments in in the financing and development of aviation infrastructure.