The launch of a daily Air Caraïbes flight (see Friday/Saturday edition) from Guadeloupe to Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) confirms the island’s growing role in regional travel. It will supposedly add more than 54,000 seats on the route.
This is in addition to an existing connection via Grand Case Airport on the French side. According to the company, its service from Martinique to St. Maarten saw an increase of 45%.
That’s impressive on any scale and comes as Winair continues to expand its network, most recently signing a three-year agreement for flights to Montserrat, as reported in Monday’s newspaper. The local carrier has turned into a major aviation player in the area.
This is important in terms of diversifying the tourism economy too. The latter traditionally depends mainly on North American and to a lesser extent European clients.
There is in principle nothing wrong with such and it has brought the destination much success over the years, including many repeat guests and significant customer loyalty. However, putting most of the proverbial eggs in one or even two baskets remains risky at best.
Experience with the biggest visitor source country the US has shown that in times of crises such as the financial crash of 2008, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. When planes and ships stop bringing passengers no money can basically be earned.
Developing alternative markets is therefore not only desirable but enhances resilience. Apart from the Caribbean, the same goes for Latin America, making use of the Copa Airlines hub in Panama City and similar options.
In other words, look not just West and East, but also South.
