A welcomed addition for sports

St Vincent and the Grenadines has received a possible economic platform with the final delivery of the Argyle International Airport (AIA).

First up, it is a good feeling to have such a piece of infrastructure, one which engenders a sense of achievement and a sign of asset to the country’s development.

But looking beyond the mere structure, the glamour of its opening, travails of its realization, the political overtones about the several missed completion dates, one has to, more than anything else, eek out all the potentialities of such a major capital project.

Whilst it is in its infancy of operations and is sucking from the mammary glands of the already fragile economy, one still has to live in hope that the AIA will fuel some activities of which sports can be a contributory factor.

Not that a windfall will immediately follow last Tuesday’s commissioning, but it sets up another infrastructural and developmental additive, which, once crafted with some deep thinking, can assist in promoting sports tourism.

In addition, this is not that we would altogether rid ourselves from the accrued vagaries of an unreliable regional airline, but at least the option and projected ease from extra-regional countries should be our vision.

Until such time, we cannot wait, but from the get go, chart the desired destination.

It, however, calls for a collective will of stakeholders of sports and the policymakers of the national economic course to maximize, in the shortest possible time, the spin-offs which can be realized from a cultured sports tourism product.

The possibilities can be optimized through thoughtful engagement of the fertile minds who understand how the many processes work, and the most cost-effective means so to do.

For too long, persons here in key positions have spoken of sports tourism, merely as a concept, rather than a progress path towards economic growth and development.

This column, over the years, has been hammering home the need for St Vincent and the Grenadines to find niches in sports which would encourage persons to visit here for short stays while engaging in competitions.

Some of our neighbouring islands often boast of the returns they get from hosting such competitions as the actual sporting activities, whilst the main events promote and hype other sectors.

Repeat visitors, an improved night life, opportunities for a lift in restaurants’ output, partying and the likes are some of the derivatives, once there is vibrancy occasioned by a flow of festival type sporting competitions.

Other than those propositions, St Vincent and the Grenadines has been pushed down the ranks of hosting more One-Day International cricket matches, not for a suitable ground, hotels and the sort, but the absence of an electronic scoreboard and replay screens at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

In piecing the chunks of development blocks together, such facilities at the Arnos Vale venue, could be another undertaking as St Vincent and the Grenadines positions itself to compete with others in the region.

Obviously, once these are achieved and the AIA is fully operational, the bargaining chip can be tabled to entice the powers that be to pencil us in on their itinerary.

Similarly, the Caribbean is one of the most sought after places for English cricket counties and clubs to have their pre-season training.

It will not hurt us one bit to move towards making representation and putting the other necessary arrangements in place, to make SVG available for such asks.

As mentioned before, things would not fall into our laps, as in the competitive world, no one will be prepared to give a quarter, neither will they beg.

It means that St Vincent and the Grenadines, which has been lagging behind in terms of its sports tourism thrust, will have to re-double its efforts, even to get anything sustained.

Whilst the droplets of success and income can one day turn into a deluge, they, however, can be long and painstaking, but achievable, only if concerted efforts are expended.

All have to lift their game in turning skims of possibilities to prosperous opportunities.

Sports tourism should now become a way of life for all who understand its potential and economic value.