የዚህ የብሪቲሽ የባህር ማዶ ግዛት ሚኒስትር ለንግስት ክብር ከሰጡ በኋላ ዛሬ ጠዋት በካሪቢያን አይኤታ ኮንፈረንስ ላይ የሚሳተፉ ልዑካንን ተቀብለዋል።

ይህ የአስተያየቱ ግልባጭ ነው።

እንደምን አደሩ ክቡራት ክቡራን እና ክቡራት እንዲሁም የስራ ባልደረቦችዎ።

ለሁላችሁም፣ በተለይም ከባህር ማዶ ለተጓዙት፣ በተለይም ለዚህ ጉባኤ ሞቅ ያለ የካይማንኪንድ እንኳን ደህና መጣችሁ ለማለት ደስ ብሎኛል።

እዚህ መገኘትዎን በጣም አደንቃለሁ እና ይህን ለማድረግ አንዳንድ መስዋእትነቶችን እና ቅድሚያ የሚሰጣቸውን ነገሮች ማቃለል እንደሚያስፈልገው ተረድቻለሁ። በግርማዊቷ ንግሥት ኤልሳቤጥ ሁለተኛይቱ ሞት ምክንያት በዚህ ሳምንት በተለይ በብሪታንያ የባሕር ማዶ ግዛቶች፣ በተባበሩት መንግሥታት ድርጅት እና በመላው ዓለም ላይ ከባድ ነበር።

ይህ የሚያሳየው ሌሎች ለኛ ትኩረት የሚሹ ጉዳዮች ቢኖሩም የእርስዎ መገኘት እኛ የምንወያይባቸው ጉዳዮችም ቅድሚያ የሚሰጣቸው ጉዳዮች መሆናቸውን አመላካች ነው።

ግን ይህን ስል፣ ዛሬ እዚህ ብዙዎቻችሁን በማየቴ ደስተኛ ነኝ።

ላለፉት 2 ዓመታት ወረርሽኙን መቋቋም ፊት ለፊት የመገናኘት ችሎታ ምን ያህል ውድ እንደሆነ እንድንገነዘብ አድርጎናል። እናም የአቪዬሽን ሚና በዕለት ተዕለት ሕይወታችን ውስጥ ያለውን ሚና እንደገና እንድንገነዘብ አድርጎናል።

ያለ አቪዬሽን፣ ሰዎችን ከመላው አለም ማምጣት፣ በአካል እንደዚህ ያሉ ኮንፈረንሶች የሚቻል አይሆንም። እና፣ ሁላችንም ለንግድ ስራ ቀጣይነት ከማጉላት እና ከቡድኖች ጋር መተዋወቅ የነበረብን እውነት ቢሆንም አሁን እንደምንሰራው ለመናገር 'ሥጋን መጫን' መቻል ምንም ነገር የለም።

በአንዳንድ መንገዶች፣ ከወረርሽኙ ጋር የተገናኘው ያለፉት ሁለት ዓመታት ያለፈ ይመስላል - ቃላቱን ይቅር ከተባለ - አሁንም ብዙ ነገር ተከሰተ። በተለይ በአቪዬሽን ዘርፍ፣ ኮቪድ አለምን ስለገለበጠ፣ በሁሉም ኢንዱስትሪዎች ላይ የንግድ እንቅስቃሴዎችን እያስተጓጎለ ነው።

እና አቪዬሽን፣ ልክ እንደ ቱሪዝም፣ አንዱ ብቻ አልነበረም አንደኛ ኢንዱስትሪዎች ተመቱ ፣ ግን አንዱ በጣም መጥፎ መምታት እየተመናመነ የመጣውን የተሳፋሪ ትራፊክ፣ መቆለፊያዎችን እና ከፍተኛ ኢኮኖሚያዊ ኪሳራዎችን ለመጋፈጥ በአንድ ጀምበር ተገድዷል።

የአቪዬሽን ኢንዱስትሪው ባልተጠበቀ ድንጋጤ ሲታገል ያ የመጀመሪያው አልነበረም። እና የመጨረሻው አይሆንም ለማለት እደፍራለሁ። ነገር ግን ስጋቱ ምንም ይሁን ምን፣ ከአሸባሪዎች ጥቃት፣ የተፈጥሮ አደጋዎች፣ የእሳተ ገሞራ አመድ ደመናዎች ወይም አለም አቀፍ ወረርሽኝ ኢንዱስትሪው ደጋግሞ የመቋቋም አቅሙን እና የማገገም አቅም እንዳለው አሳይቷል።

ከዚህ ዳራ አንጻር የዛሬው ጉባኤ ወቅታዊ ነው። እና “Recover፣ Reconnect and Revive” የሚለው ጭብጥ በተለይ ጠቃሚ ነው፣ ምክንያቱም ዛሬ ስለ ሁሉም ነገር ምንነት ይይዛል።

የአቪዬሽን ኢንዱስትሪው በጥሩ ሁኔታ የታሰቡ የጉዞ ገደቦችን እና የክትባት መስፈርቶችን በማስወገድ በማገገሚያ ሁነታ ላይ መሆኑ አያጠራጥርም። እዚህ በካይማን ደሴቶች፣ የጉዞ ገደቦች በተዝናኑ ቁጥር፣ የጎብኝዎች መምጣት ጉልህ ጭማሪ ተመዝግቧል።

ሌሎች አውራጃዎች በመጤዎች ላይ ተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ እያጋጠማቸው ነበር፣ ይህም የተጓዥ እምነት እየተመለሰ መሆኑን ያሳያል፣ እና ሰዎች ከሚወዷቸው ጋር እንደገና ለመገናኘት እና ለዓመታት ያወጡትን የእረፍት ጊዜ ለመውሰድ ዝግጁ ነበሩ።

ኢንዱስትሪው በተለያዩ የማገገም፣የግንኙነት እና የመነቃቃት ደረጃዎች ውስጥ ሲዘዋወር ከወረርሽኙ በፊት የነበሩትን ተግዳሮቶችና እድሎች እንዲሁም ሊፈጠሩ የሚችሉ አዳዲሶችን የመቅረፍ አስፈላጊነት አሁን ይበልጥ አሳሳቢ ሆኗል።

ስለዚህ IATA ሁሉንም የኢንዱስትሪ ዘርፎች አንድ ላይ ያገናኘውን ይህን መድረክ ስላዘጋጀው አመሰግነዋለሁ።

የፖሊሲ አውጪዎች፣ የአየር ትራንስፖርት ተቆጣጣሪዎች፣ የአቪዬሽን ኢንደስትሪ ተወካዮች እና ሌሎች ባለድርሻ አካላት የተወከሉ ተሳታፊዎች እንደመሆኖ፣ የእርስዎ መገኘት እነዚያን ተግዳሮቶች እና እድሎች በግልፅ አእምሮ እና ግልጽ ውይይት ለመፍታት የሁሉም አካላት ፈቃደኝነት አመላካች ነው። ትርጉም ያለው ለውጥ ለማምጣት በጋራ ስንሰራ እርስ በርስ እንድንማማር ያስችለናል።

የዛሬው መሪ ሃሳብ፣ “Recover፣ Reconnect and Revive” ቱሪዝምን በአቪዬሽን ላይ እንደሚያደርገው ሁሉ ይሠራል። እና እኔ የምለው ምክንያቱም፣ እዚህ በካይማን ደሴቶች ውስጥ የቱሪዝም እና የትራንስፖርት ሚኒስትር እንደመሆኔ፣ አንዱ በሌላው ላይ የሚኖረውን ተፅእኖ በየቀኑ ለማየት ስለምገኝ፣ ልዩነቱ፣ የአቪዬሽን ኢንዱስትሪው የሚጠራውን ነው። ተሳፋሪዎች ፣ የእንግዳ ተቀባይነት ኢንዱስትሪው እንደ እንግዶችን ያመለክታል ።

የሆነ ሆኖ ሁለቱ ኢንዱስትሪዎች እርስ በርስ የሚደጋገፉ እና እርስ በርስ የሚደጋገፉ ናቸው, ይህም አየር መጓጓዣ ቱሪዝምን ይመራል, እና የቱሪዝም መጨመር የአየር አቅምን ያመጣል. አንዱ ወገን ከተበላሸ በሌላኛው ላይ የማይቀር ተፅዕኖ ይኖራል። እና ይህ የቱሪዝም እና የአቪዬሽን ኢንዱስትሪዎች የአንድ እኩልነት ሁለት ክፍሎች ተደርገው እንዲታዩ በጣም አስፈላጊ የሆነበት አንዱ ምክንያት ነው።

There can be no denying that air transport is as resilient as it is indispensable. It lies at the very center of our socio-economic fabric. It underpins social connections and facilitates our access to goods and services – including trade, jobs, health care, and education. Flying is said to be one of the safest and most reliable modes of transportation in the world today, driven by speed, convenience, and connectivity.

So with all that being said. Allow me to ask you a question. Many of you in the room today have traveled in from the region.

How many of you came here directly, or did you have to connect through Miami and perhaps even overnight there?

Within our Caribbean context, is that just the way it is? Or is the lack of efficient East/West connectivity within our region a major vulnerability? Maybe during today’s discussions, we’ll be able to answer questions like these.

Tourism is a significant economic driver for all of us in the region, yet the lack of inter-regional air connectivity often makes traveling to neighboring Islands seem like a long-haul journey. The concept of regional integration, underpinned by a regional visa solely to facilitate travel by tourists, has been talked about for decades, and to date, those discussions have not led to any tangible actions or conclusions.

Strategically improving regional connectivity could potentially transform this region. It could have a positive impact on our national tourism markets. Visitors could fly ወደ one Island and fly መኖሪያ ቤት from another.

Turning that potential into a reality would require a thorough analysis of the pros and cons and a cohesive and coordinated effort if we decided to give it a try.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But since today is all about examining our issues and exploring possibilities, I am looking forward to an insightful discussion on multi-destination tourism and to hearing the perspectives of the distinguished panelists – Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Hon. Lisa Cummins and Hon. Henry Charles Fernandez will be joining me for that debate later today.

Also pertinent to this discussion is the fireside chat with Dr. Gene Leon, President of the Caribbean Development Bank, which explores how private sector financing and partnerships might play a role. Access to funding, or at least knowing where the resources could potentially come from, is absolutely critical to the concept of multi-destination tourism, so I will be listening intently.

Ladies and gentlemen, new challenges will always be on the horizon, but it’s how we respond to them that determines the ultimate outcome.

When faced with the absence of passengers, airlines quickly pivoted and used their immense global connectivity to keep vital supply chains functioning. Lifesaving vaccines, medical supplies, and cargo were transported around the world to enable trade with other industries to continue.

Here in the Cayman Islands, our air bridge with the United Kingdom provided a reliable conduit for vaccines and essential supplies, and we are very grateful to the UK, and our airline partner British Airways, for their support during that time of crisis.

Now, with the transition to recovery mode, the aviation sector is still playing an important role in our ever-shrinking, globalized world. The good news is that while the future might be unpredictable, steps can always be taken to help influence how it unfolds.

The 2019 Aviation Benefits Report published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), in collaboration with the global aviation industry, states that, and I quote ‘If the global aviation sector were a country, its total contribution direct, indirect and induced of US 2.7 trillion Dollars, to the gross domestic product (GDP), and the 65.5 million jobs it supports, would be comparable to the United Kingdom’s economic size and population.’ Unquote.

Granted, that was prior to the pandemic, but what it underscores is the aviation industry’s powerful stature as a global economic engine.

To function at that level, countries all around the world, especially Caribbean destinations that depend so heavily on tourism, require infrastructure that doesn’t just facilitate passenger movements but also serves as an enabler for diversification and can facilitate expansion into emerging markets.

The panel discussion immediately following my remarks looks at infrastructure in the Caribbean in the context of opportunities, challenges, and best practices. I am looking forward to hearing more on this subject from the distinguished panelists because having the right infrastructure in place to support airline operations is fundamental to our national interests and to the interests of the region as a whole.

And speaking of airline operations, something I think we can all agree on is that barring any more pandemics and unforeseen catastrophes, the demand for air travel is very likely to grow for decades to come.

And as air travel rebuilds, sustainability will increasingly become a key focus, as the aviation sector is called upon to be greener and more efficient with respect to equipment and facilities.

It is incumbent on us as policy and decision-makers to be mindful of the ramifications that our decisions can have on future generations.

In keeping with this conference’s theme – “Recover, Reconnect, Revive” – the pandemic afforded our natural environment time to recover. It allowed us to reconnect with nature and acknowledge the importance of natural areas for our health and well-being.

I am proud to be part of a Government that approved the purchase and expansion of protected areas on all three Cayman Islands during this time.

Many of these areas support recreation and tourism-related activities and in conjunction with existing marine protected areas, may assist our smallest island Little Cayman – known for its unique natural character and charm – in its bid for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. (But that’s in its early stages.)

The pandemic sparked a greater appreciation of our Sister Islands as domestic travel destinations and revealed the critical role that ‘staycations’ played in keeping their localized economies afloat; while offering much-needed opportunities to mentally recharge. The value of having our own national airline to facilitate this type of inter-island travel cannot be understated.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the mindset of travelers is changing, and the focus on sustainable travel is a rapidly growing trend. Travelers are increasingly showing interest in reducing the environmental impact of tourism, and to be successful, we have to say ahead of the game because this is what our customers expect of us.

To borrow a phrase from my Director of Tourism, Mrs. Rosa Harris, ‘Airlift is the oxygen in our tourism industry, which means airlift brings the market to our product.

As tourism-dependent territories, we would not survive long without our airline partners bringing people from all over the world to enjoy the many wonderful experiences we have to offer.

Air connectivity is the cause and the effect of the growth of tourism, and the future is bright. So bright, in fact, that United, American, and Japan airlines have announced plans to invest in supersonic airliners and “return supersonic speeds to aviation” in the year 2029. The new aircraft is designed to use 100% sustainable fuel, making them a net-zero carbon.

Could flying at Mach 1 speeds of 1300 miles an hour really be the future of aviation? I’m not so certain….but that’s a question for another day.

Today, we have plenty of thought-provoking and relevant topics to keep us engaged for the entire day. When I think of the things that unite us as a region, it is evident that when we are united, we can be unstoppable.

And that is the kind of strength – the strength in togetherness – that I hope we can harness in the future. And use it as a catalyst for creating greater economic benefits for our Islands and the region as a whole.

So today, I am looking forward to pooling our collective wisdom and collaboratively addressing the issues that are central to the economic and social well-being of our Territories.

I anticipate that the conversations will be candid and lively, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing – because we need to speak, as well as listen, to understand each other’s points of view.

As the new chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, I am committed to creating many more opportunities for candid discussions by bringing the stakeholders together and finding the best ways forward.

And so, without further ado, I’d like to sincerely thank every one of you for taking the time to join us at this very important summit. I hope that by the time you leave here, we will have given you some things to think about; some things to talk about; and some memories of our beautiful Cayman Islands that will stay with you forever.

Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my pleasure to be your host, and I wish you all a wonderful day.