Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday has welcomed InterCaribbean Airways as ‘an important partner’ in improving regional travel as the airline Thursday unveiled one of its aircraft bearing the national flag and the name ‘Spirit of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’.
Friday described the aircraft as a ‘branded flying ambassador’ for St. Vincent and the Grenadines and a visible expression of national identity.
‘Wherever it flies throughout the Caribbean, it will carry the spirit and beauty of our country with it,’ Friday said, adding that each landing and departure by the aircraft will send a message that the country is open for business and ready to welcome visitors.
He told the ceremony that tourism is a pillar of the economy, supporting jobs, entrepreneurs, farmers, fisherfolk, artisans and families across the multi-island state and to unlock its full potential, government must build strategic partnerships, modern infrastructure and improved accessibility.
Friday said that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is responsible for transportation within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) quasi-cabinet and that regional air connectivity remains one of the region’s biggest challenges, regularly discussed at CARICOM summits.
He said in that context, he welcomed InterCaribbean Airways as ‘an important partner’ in improving regional travel and commended the airline for embracing the vision of showcasing the Vincentian brand across the region.
Friday said the partnership with the Turks and Caicos Island based airline forms part of a wider government programme to upgrade transport and tourism infrastructure, including the continued investment to optimise Argyle International Airport.
‘World-class destinations require world-class infrastructure and top-notch service,’ he said, linking tourism to a broader economic strategy based on four priority pillars: agriculture, tourism, the blue economy and the new economy.
Friday urged Vincentians to take pride when they see the aircraft abroad, saying it embodies ‘our warmth, our history, our aspirations, and our resilience as a people’ insisting ‘we take a back seat to no one’.
Chief executive officer of InterCaribbean Airways, Trevor Sadler, said that airline is now serving 24 cities in 18 countries, expanding steadily moving from nine- and 15-seat aircraft to 30-seat Embraer 120s, then to 50-seat Embraer 145 jets in 2018, and now operating 11 ATR aircraft.
Sadler said that InterCaribbean Airways is on the verge of introducing eight Embraer 170 jets with 76 seats and twice the range of the 145s, enabling expansion into new destinations.
With the induction of the ‘Spirit of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ ATR, Sadler said the aircraft will operate across the Caribbean, with deliberate efforts to schedule flights into AIA and that the branding is also a conversation starter.
He said with St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ flag on the nose and tail, ‘we hope everyone who’s not familiar with that flag is going to take a moment to ask the question… and now get curious about coming here’.
Chief executive officer of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority, Shafia London, said the aircraft branding represented far more than marketing visibility, describing it as ‘a powerful symbol of partnership, connectivity, and shared ambition… a visible symbol of a valued partnership’.
London said tourism rests on two pillars: building a destination that people want to visit, and ensuring they can actually get there.
She recalled the post-COVID period when travel to and from the island required ‘patience, careful planning, and compromise’, and credited InterCaribbean Airways with helping to change that reality by expanding its regional network and strengthening its presence.
She said that every InterCaribbean Airlines flight into the international airport here, represents economic opportunity for a wide range of Vincentians, including hotels and guesthouses, restaurants and taxi operators, tour guides and attractions, and farmers, fisherfolk, artisans and small businesses,
London said as the Tourism Authority prepares to launch ‘a new era of destination marketing’ the partnership ensures that when potential visitors are inspired to come, ‘getting here is not a challenge; it is a possibility’.
Tourism Minister DR. Kishore Shallow framed the branded aircraft as a declaration that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is asserting itself in a crowded Caribbean tourism marketplace.
He said the ‘Spirit of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ is ‘a declaration that the island is taking its rightful place in the Caribbean marketplace – a bold statement,’ adding that each flight carrying the national flag becomes an invitation to discover the islands, experience the people, and invest in the country.
Shallow linked the unveiling to what he described as ‘remarkable momentum’ in the tourism sector, making reference to a prospective public-private partnership with Global Ports Holding in the cruise sector and a packed calendar that includes Caribbean premier league (CPL) matches on August 7-9, teasing that a ‘real surprise’ is yet to be revealed.
He said that hotel occupancy has surged, with rooms fully booked during ‘Vincymas’ and already sold out for the upcoming CPL fixtures.
Shallow acknowledged that while St. Vincent and the Grenadines does not have the ‘luxurious wallets’ of some regional competitors, government and the Tourism Authority are compensating through strategic planning, institutional strengthening, and efficient use of limited resources.