St. John’s, Antigua (13 June 2010) --- More than 60 travel professionals at the recently-concluded Cruise3Sixty Conference and Trade Show, a CLIA event held June 2-6 in Vancouver, were part of a Destination Workshop conducted on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda.

During the tourism off season the Ministry of Tourism, ABCTA and tourism stakeholders will focus on the retraining of service industry workers to prepare for the season 2010/ 2011 in an effort to improve the visitor experience as well as Antigua and Barbuda as a tourism destination. In this regard, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism and the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association (ABCTA) will be hosting a two day training program for taxi drivers and tourism stakeholders commencing June 22, 2010.

The Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture is again partnering with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) to promote the 2010 FCCA Foundation Children’s Essay Contest.

This year’s topic is: “What can my destination do to become more competitive in the global tourism market?”

A new airline will be flying through the Caribbean skies from May 5, 2010. Tortola-based BVI Airways has announced that it has completed its final preparations and is ready to move passengers through the region. Management has also indicated that ticket sales have begun online via its reservations Web site. It was also revealed that the airline’s operations would begin as scheduled in order to rapidly increase its operations across the region to meet its market demands. BVI Airways will initially begin flights between Tortola and Antigua on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Tortola and St.

In its continued effort to play a more meaningful role in aiding travel within the Caribbean, Winair has announced a massive promotion. Vice President of Marketing, Claudio Buncamper said this promotion is geared at providing some special fares to patrons wanting to attend the largest cultural festivity of St. Maarten, the 41st carnival celebrations.

The owners of Island Aviation Aero Club, Incorporated in Antigua and Delaware have been sucessful in bring in their first of 5 airplanes. The club now has a Cessna 172 aircraft purchased in the U.S.A.
Owners of the club, Joseph Doway and Lloyd Sheppard stated that this is the beginning of a new era in aviation partnership and camaraderie. Club members have been able to receive flight training, while other pilots have done check rides and even rented the airplane for journeys to Guadeloupe and St. Martin.