The Blog entry to Follow was actually written before the start of Antigua Tourism Week, I held off publication, as I wanted to see if negotiation would solve the problem, as of December. 13, 2007, the saga continues!!! In Antigua, National Tourism Week 2007 will be celebrated from November 25th. to November 30th. It would seem almost laughable but it is actually tragic, that just before the National Celebration of Tourism here in Antigua, one of the major contributors to Antigua's tourism sector a Mr Robert Barrett, controlling Galley Bay, St James's Club and now the Verandah ...<< MORE >>

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This morning while I was enjoying the arrival of a new day here in paradise I was reminded by a small lizard why I enjoy living here.

As many loyal friends know, those early risers anyway, I greet each new day by enjoying a cup of coffee on my back porch which overlooks the gardens here at Long Bay. Over the last few mornings I have noticed a new baby lizard weighing perhaps an ounce who seemed to be totally absorbed by my big toe. The reason I noticed the lizard was that on the first morning I felt a tiny weight on my foot, when I looked down I saw the tiny lizard running away. Upon reflection I thought the lizard was interested in my big toe, I tend to tap it on the floor, while I am sitting. Anyway I wasn't too bothered as he didn't hurt me and I thought he would tire of the toe chasing game eventually.

Well this morning I have figured out why this tiny new lizard is so interested in my feet. You see it wasn't my big toe he was interested in but the whole area around my toes in general. Why is this? well it seems that small gnats, we do have a few, like to buzz around the end of my toes. Mr lizard had seen this on previous days and figured he could get breakfast every day if he watched the end of my toes. Well I tell you it was amazing to watch this guy feed, he would sit there patiently looking at the end of my feet and then BAM! as quick as an eye blink, he would catch a gnat. I must admit it was a wonder to watch and it didn't hurt, that he was culling the gnat population, we all can use less gnats.

These small constant interactions with nature are a joy to behold and rarely enjoyed in the first world. I don't know but in the real world with our schedules, TV news, rush hour traffic and the rest we seem not to notice the world around us. Here however by design we constantly are presented with the nature around us and almost forced to realize that we humans are just one small part of the overall puzzle.

Thank you Mr. Lizard.

A few days ago I was at the sign makers store and had a disquieting conversation with a local Taxi Driver who plies his trade at V.C. Bird International Airport. My conversation with this taxi driver highlights the lack of tourism support and general apathy towards tourism in general in Antigua, by our general public.

To understand my conversation fully I need to fill the non-local in on some facts. At our airport every Saturday there is a mass shortage of Taxis to take our valued tourists to their respective Hotels & Resorts. This situation occurs as many of the Taxi drivers who are granted sole access to arriving passengers in Antigua are Seventh Day Adventists, there is of course, nothing wrong with practicing ones religion. Seventh Day adventists do not work for religious reasons, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, this creates a shortage of taxis at the airport from Friday evening until Saturday evening. Because the privileged Airport Taxi association does not want to dilute the total number of taxis at the airport it refuses to add more Taxis for the flight arrivals for Friday night and all Saturday. What the Taxi association prefers, is to require our arriving tourists to jam into taxis three or four couples together, charging I might add, a full taxi fare, for each couple.

My discussion with the local airport taxi person revolved around the fact that I thought it unprofessional for our taxi drivers to expect our arriving tourists, to share a taxi ride, while still paying the fare for a private taxi. My argument was and is, our arriving guests expect a taxi at their service, not a bus ride. To add insult to injury we then ask our arriving guests to pay, full fare, as if they enjoyed a comfortable private taxi ride. I was adamantly trying to explain to him the thoughts, that must go through our arriving passengers minds, as they are shuffled into a bus, after requesting a taxi. I tried to explain this was not customary behavior, throughout the world, his retort was that we were not the rest of the world we were Antigua, where things are done our way not the worlds way. I pointed out that this may be; but if our arriving tourists expect a certain level of service and then they receive another experience altogether, they are then understandably disappointed. Finally to ask the tourist to pay full fare, a rip off in the minds off the traveler, which adds insult, disbelief and anger to the whole situation, is "JUST WRONG"

The more I  argued the case about acceptable standards and the expectations of the traveler, even going so far to suggest we call the service a bus service rather then Taxi service, to avoid the misconception, the more he argued that tourists have been coming to our shores for years and no matter what we do they will continue to come. He even mentioned that he had never heard of any complaints. I said that tourists on holiday, are not here to argue with a taxi driver, they are here to enjoy a relaxing trouble experience, they way they complain is by choosing to visit a different island on their next trip to the Caribbean. It is this kind of attitude, which is somewhat pervasive throughout our Island, that has the potential to kill our main source of income, not only for the taxi driver but for all of us.

Just to be fare to ourselves, I think our problem is not malice but ignorance. To give you an example several years ago I was fortunate enough to hear a Mr. Vanderpool from the Bahamas speak in Antigua about the Bahama's tourism experience. During his speech he mentioned that one thing their islands did to improve the overall tourist product was to educate the population, to the importance of Tourism, on their nations economy. One of the stories he tells to highlight, the education problem and process, was that their Island's advertising slogan was sending the wrong message to the general population. You may remember the slogan from years ago "It's Better In the Bahama's" well when the local population was surveyed they found that the locals thought, because they were told to think, if " It's Better In the Bahama's" why should I, a local, make an effort ? it is already "Better In the Bahamas" . One of the first things the Bahama Tourist authority did was change their line to "The Bahamas it just Keeps Getting better" to signify that constant work is needed to provide a superior vacation experience. After the new ad campaign was implemented, along with other efforts of course, the Bahamas saw a marked change in the attitudes of the local population and of course an increase in tourist satisfaction with the holiday experience.

It is this kind of education that we here in Antigua need to implement. No matter what one feels, think or believes, Tourism is Antigua's only engine of growth, without the engine, the car don't run. Wake Up Antigua!

Hello,
Let me introduce myself, I'm Chris, I've lived in Antigua since 1963, when my parents me tagging along, first moved here. Lately I've been seeing a lot of blogs and I thought it might be interesting to share my personal thoughts on the life we all live here in Antigua.
 
I must write as of today, I feel this blog will be mostly about the changes that need to be made on Antigua, by the people of Antigua, if they want to join the rest of the world in 21st century. Please don't misunderstand me I like the fact that, as a place to live, Antigua is about 20 years behind the rest of the world, that fact alone is most certainly a good thing. However there are times when I think we as a nation should start to embrace those attitudes and manners that make life, and human interaction, in general easier. There are of course specific examples but I will highlight those in a later entry.

Let me assure you that the comments you will read in future, are my thoughts alone, which may or may not be shared by others. My motives are for information purposes only and for me to have a medium to express my personal feelings which oft times come about due to frustrating situations encountered here on Antigua. Often after these situations occur one thinks WHY still, after 40 years, do we still do, such and such, the sane way WHY???  If you agree or disagree with any of my comments please let me know, my blog email address is cjlanu55@yhoo.com.

I will of course attempt to share the good as well as the frustrating, we all know though that the frustrating is what motivates us to take action, if life is great "Leave it Alone"