In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, they say tourism is everyone’s business; that is our motto. Each and every one of us is responsible. But it doesn’t seem that tourism is of any concern to the government, especially for the Grenadines and more so for Bequia. The Grenadines generate so much revenue in tourism dollars, but yet we are being neglected. Why?
Hardly any revenue collected is being spent on the maintenance of the infrastructure in the Grenadines, especially Bequia. Bequia has a small regional airport with so much potential. It opened in May 1992. This small airport is very vital for island tourism. It is steadily busy during the winter months of November to April. Whether there are 12 to 1 flights, this airport is needed. Currently, three airlines are based there.
For the last 2 years now, the runway has been overlapping with overgrown trees and grass with little to no maintenance. You will almost think the place is abandoned. These trees are a big safety hazard to the airport’s daily operations as visibility is very poor to nonexistent to the air traffic controllers on the runway. As well as being unsightly and dangerous for aircraft. Will it take, god forbid, an accident for those in authority to wake up?
Last week, there was a report that some branches were clipping the wing of one of the aircraft on the runway.
If ECCA(Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation) were more proactive, I don’t think any of these airports in the Grenadines would be in operation. We are on the brink of yet another tourist season. Calling on the relative authority, let’s please put politics aside for once and do what is needed to be done; after all, tourism is everyone’s business.
