The value of the Multi-modal Transport Hub
Dear Editor,
I noted your editorial last Thursday regarding tourists from China, which, coincidentally, could have been extended to the Far East in general, and Africa.
Indeed, this was a part of the Integrated Multi-modal Transport Hub that I, as transport minister, was creating as part of the plans for growth that I laid out in April 2011.
Anyone in the travel and visitor business will confirm that travel time of the visitor (point-to-point) is among the greatest challenges, as is the load factor of the route. This is why my plan spoke to the development of Vernamfield in the long term, and the expansion of the Sangster International Airport, together with the expansion of the Ian Fleming Airport, to create a Caribbean Regional Hub.
This would facilitate travellers from across numerous time zones, to reach more than one destination in a relatively quick time.
Then there is the route factor, which was why I pursued the ‘Open Skies’ policy, and left some 26 such agreements in place, as the present routes taking travellers through either Europe or the USA both require visas, which take time and add in-transit costs.
As we all know, the visitor market is a time-sensitive one. Thus, I had all but put in place plans to have Far Eastern airlines fly from the Far East and Africa (China, Malaysia, Singapore, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria) to Kingston. This could be achieved in some 17-19 hours with one change, in comparison to the present three to four days and even weeks awaiting a visa.
The result would be that the volume of travellers would far exceed the capacities of our existing airports until we are able to build out Vernamfield to take the larger planes. Couple that situation with reduced visa rules, and ‘bingo!’, we would be overwhelmed even if we only attract a fraction of one per cent of that overall population.
Only by long-term planning can we advance, and nothing has happened while almost two years have passed by, as we haggle over different political fantasies and the International Monetary Fund.
Mike Henry
Member of Parliament
Central Clarendon
