Conviasa returns to Grenada

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Parent Category: Aug 2011

Category: Week ending Aug 27th, 2011

Published on Monday, 29 August 2011 10:30

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Tourism officials in Grenada and Venezuela believe that this country can benefit from a wider tourism destination with the reintroduction of Conviasa Airline. The airline, which last flew into Grenada on September 13, 2010, was welcomed back last week Friday at the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) by a host of officials including Tourism Minister, Peter David and Charge D’Affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in St. George’s, Venezia Martinez.

In his welcoming address, Minister David said the relaunch of the service is a significant step in the expansion of a gateway for the Spice Isle into the Spanish-speaking Americas. He acknowledged that the nature of the tourism leisure and potential business investment climate has changed with the advent of the new service.

“The relaunch of this service at a much larger level not only continues the strong links between Grenada and Margarita island, Venezuela, it also extends our ability to reach to our Spanish-speaking neighbours and friends in Colombia and Argentina on the South-American Continent,” he said. Minister David sees Conviasa as providing an excellent opportunity for Grenada to have good flight connection to Havana, Cuba and Madrid, Spain and it is also likely that the flight might provide for  expansion into Peru and the Dominican Republic.

With Conviasa back in Grenada, the senior government minister challenged all stakeholders in the industry to take a look at the opportunities that exist in South America with a view to enhancing tourism in Grenada.

In addition, he said there is now a greater need for Grenadians to learn to speak the Spanish language. “Our schools and other institutions of higher learning must ensure that more of our people, particularly those engaged in the tourism industry can communicate with our new visitors in a language of their choice,” he added. The twice-weekly flight provides a maximum of 70 seats.

The resident Venezuelan Diplomat who also spoke at the welcome ceremony indicated that Conviasa is a special tool for integration between the Latin American and Caribbean countries. Martinez said that government officials in St. George’s have repeatedly said to her government they were interested in the airline resuming its services into Grenada in order to pursue tourism, trade and political harmony.

She stated that the Hugh Chavez Government in Venezuela, through Conviasa, is now giving that commitment to broaden its relations with the people of Grenada as it offers a flight between Polamar and Grenada. “Our only goal is not the commercial benefit, but the most important one is the real integration among peoples of the Caribbean and Venezuela,” she said.

The airline flies out of Polamar into Grenada, and goes on to Trinidad before returning to Polamar. However, President of Conviasa Airline, Jesus Vinas Garcia who were among officials on board the aircraft for the inaugural flight into MBIA, said that consideration is also being given to have Grenada serve as the central hub for different destinations in the Caribbean. Speaking through an interpreter, Garcia said this would allow Conviasa to connect with all the networks of flights that already exist in North America and Europe. He believes that once this is achieved the result of the new connection will benefit everyone.

“It will surely make possible to have profits that will ensure that Conviasa will be coming to Grenada for many more years to come, but above and beyond that we consider Conviasa to be a tool for integration among people,” he said. The Conviasa President stressed that the concept of integration by which the Chavez government in Caracas through its ALBA  concept (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America) has been promoting, believes that now is the time to come together and unite the cultures, and create a new bigger and better culture for the hemisphere.

“That’s the final goal of this movement for integration. Conviasa in only an instrument to achieve that because we know that intentions and hopes are not enough, but we also need real tools and means to achieve these goals,” he said. Grenada currently enjoys observer status in ALBA.

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