ANTIGUA & BARBUDA GOVERNMENT TAKES UNIFIED APPROACH TO SECURE RETURN OF RUSSIAN BUSINESS SAILING WEEK
Tuesday 22nd March 2011
Russian Delegation & Tourism officials meet Prime Minister Spencer. L:R Claude Anthony, Chairman, National Parks, Eugene Kipper, Prime Minister Spencer, Mikhail Savelyev, Alexander Zvanskiy, Colin James, Tourism Authority.
A three man delegation from the organizing committee of the Russian Business Sailing Week arrived in Antigua & Barbuda on Sunday 20th March for two days of high level meetings with a view to moving the lucrative event back to Antigua & Barbuda for 2012.
Eugene Kipper; who was formerly based in Antigua, Mikhail Savelyev and Alexander Zvanskiy arrived at the weekend immediately after the conclusion of this year’s event which was staged in Guadeloupe. The three were hosted at the historic Copper & Lumber Store Hotel in English Harbour courtesy of National Parks. “We were very disappointed that the event moved to Guadeloupe so we decided to take the lead in opening discussions early to secure their return to Antigua for 2012.” Said Claude Anthony, Chairman, National Parks.
The annual event, now in its third year, takes place in March and attracts as many as 200 high net worth business people primarily from Russia. In general, participants have never visited the Caribbean. Although the event was staged in Guadeloupe this year, Government officials are hopeful that a memorandum of agreement will be drawn up to ensure that the event returns to Antigua & Barbuda next year. “We organize sailing regattas all over the world. Our participants love Antigua. They love the white sand beaches and the crystal clear water. This is the Caribbean that they always dreamt of” said Mikhail Savelyev.
Reportedly, the group was not impressed with the conditions in Guadeloupe. A collaborative effort between the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, National Parks, the Ministry of Tourism and the Antigua & Barbuda Investment Authority ensured that an invitation was extended to the Russian businessmen to visit Antigua & Barbuda at the close of the regatta in Guadeloupe.
“The objectives of the Russian Business Sailing Week are two-fold. One aspect of the visit is the regatta. The sailing conditions in Antigua are superb for this. Antigua hosts one of the top 5 regattas in the world in Antigua Sailing Week, so we are more than equipped to meet their requirements. The other aspect of the visit is to explore business and investment opportunities that exist. We have arranged for the delegation to meet with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Investment Authority to ensure that we make progress in this regard. We have attractive investment opportunities and Government is committed to taking a unified approach to ensure success.” Said Hon. John Maginley; Minister of Tourism, Culture & Civil Aviation during a meeting with the Russian visitors.
While in Antigua the businessmen paid courtesy calls on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance both of whom gave their commitment to work with the group. They also held discussions with the Antigua & Barbuda Investment Authority where several substantial investment proposals were presented for consideration.
The 2 day visit will conclude with a dinner at the exclusive Jumby Bay Resort. “We thought it fitting that the businessmen visit Jumby Bay since this will provide a perfect representation of the type of the possibilities that exist especially in terms of hotel investment projects.” Said Colin C. James, CEO, Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority.
“We also discussed opportunities to develop tourism in the Russian market.” Continued James. “Antigua & Barbuda is recognized in the Russian business community because of the foundation laid by the hosting of the Regatta. We discussed some practical opportunities that exist to build on that awareness and capitalize on the middle class Russians who are now looking further afield than Europe for a holiday destination.”
The Russian Business Sailing Week is expected to grow to over 4oo participants next year. If successful in their bid to bring the event back to Antigua & Barbuda, the Government can expect this to act as the precursor to future investment partnerships.