Business View Caribbean | April 2019

50 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN APRIL 2019 Simone La Borde, Montserrat Port Authority Finance and Administration Officer responds, “It’s a challenging question, but to comment on what we’ve seen, the department has recently recruited a Director of Tourism. And with the St. Patrick’s activities bringing in most of the Diaspora, we had 4,300 visitors coming to Montserrat in the last two weeks of March for our 10-day celebration. Worry about the volcano turned to eagerness to see the modern-day Pompeii and celebrate with us. The Tourism department certainly did a lot more marketing, internationally, and we’re getting numbers coming back to Montserrat.” The Port Authority doesn’t do direct marketing, however, the government continues to grapple with the issue of access, in that the airlines operating here only have 9-seater planes, resorting to the use of 19-seater planes only in peak periods when there is a need. According to La Borde, “The ferry continues to be the best mode of transport, but some people don’t have sea legs and the sea conditions can be uncertain, which results in downtime. As well, since we are living on one third of the island, finding a place for people who want to return here to live and build houses is difficult. The north has been notable for privately- owned property with restrictive, family-related ownership clauses for land, raising many issues with selling the said land.” Lack of employment opportunities is another challenge. Many students leave the island right after secondary school to further their education, and it’s rare that they go without the rest of the family. Most Montserratians would have left when the volcano first erupted. But the population continues to decline; people born on the island can acquire British citizenship after a certain time, and when they gain that, they set off for the mainland. So, more are actually leaving than coming back. The last census recorded 4,400 residents; of that number only about 55 percent are born-Montserratians. La Borde notes, “Financially, the government massyunitedinsurance.com Anguilla n Antigua & Barbuda n Aruba n Bahamas n Barbados n Belize British Virgin Islands n Cayman Islands n Curacao n Dominica n Grenada Guyana n Jamaica n Montserrat n St Kitts & Nevis n Saint Lucia St Vincent & The Grenadines n Trinidad & Tobago n Turks & Caicos Islands As you chart your course, you can rest assured that Massy United Insurance will be with you for every leg of your voyage. Whether you are importing or exporting, your cargo is in safe hands with our Marine Cargo Insurance Policy. 6974 NW 50TH STREET, MIAMI, FL 33166 www. DAVIDTATE .com 305.477.1181 DAVID TATE EXPORT INC. QUALITY PRE-OWNED CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY, CRANES, ASPHALT & CONCRETE EQUIPMENT, TRUCKS, AND PORT EQUIPMENT