ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The Tourism Authority is set to come under review and may ultimately be scraped, according to Minister of Tourism John Maginley.
The organisation was formed by The Tourism Authority Act in 2008 under the then Tourism Minister Harold Lovell. But now Maginley said it’s time to review the worth of the body.
“I think the time has come where we have to look at it seriously and see if it is carrying out the function that was intended or if there are some new functions that need to be given, or if we have to do away with it all together,” Maginley said during his budget presentation in Parliament on Tuesday.
The tourism minister posed several questions about the authority that he said needs to be answered before a final decision is made.
“Is it meeting its function? Is the cost of operating the tourism authority money being well spent? So Madame Speaker while I think the Tourism Authority is doing a good job they have their challenges and we don’t know if they are really carrying the weight as we would like it to see,” Maginley said.
However he was careful not to criticise those in charge of the authority and chose instead to praise them for their work.
“I want the members of the Tourism Authority to understand this is not a knock against anybody on the tourism authority. Every unit of government is being reviewed and if a unit of government or a statutory corporation that we are involved in and the members of this hose don’t think it’s serving its purpose we will look at it,” Maginley said.
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colin C James.
The authority was formed to develop policies for the promotion of tourism and to design and implement marketing strategies and advise the government on matters relating to tourism among others functions. James declined comment on the matter.
Mr. Derrick,
Good Afternoon. I am in agreement with John Maginley that the tourism authority should be done away with once and for all. The authority does not even have a master marketing plan. how can you promote or market anything without a marketing plan? colin james and his crew are going forward blindly and wasting public funds in the process. get a grip!! colin james should hang his head in shame for such an atrocity.
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