CMCfeature-WORLD-Getting it right for Cricket World Cup 2007

by Desmond Brown

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – It's something never attempted before. Nine countries hosting the world's third largest sporting event over a 47-day period. 

What's even more interesting is the fact that there are people in the world who've never heard of some of these tiny islands, which from March 5, will become the centre of attention, as cricket is played at various venues across the Caribbean.

Getting to those venues from across the globe has been one of the major challenges facing the organisers of the event that has a television audience in excess of one billion.

But Michael Conway, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Jamaica, the region's largest air carrier, is confident that the Caribbean airlines would not disappoint the supporters coming to cheer on their teams from as far as Australia.

"This is really an unprecedented event, where you have several countries separated by large spans of water. I'm not aware that this has ever been done before and I think there are plenty of skeptics out there, but these people are normally skeptical of anything that's being tried for the first time.

"You only get one chance to make a good first impression so I think the region will benefit by this," Conway said.  

Several months ago, Air Jamaica led a collaborative effort among the regional air carriers, forming an alliance where, collectively, they will provide air transportation for all of the teams, sponsors, officials and spectators for the International Cricket Council's 2007 Cricket World Cup.

The alliance brought together Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines - which began operations this year taking over from the defunct and cash strapped BWIA-, Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) and Caribbean Star Airlines.

"Between the airlines in the region we fly to every location where the games are being held," Conway said.  

"No one airline flies to all of the locations so it seems to make a lot of sense that despite what might have been differences between airlines in the past, this time we ought to be able to put differences and issues aside because the alternative would be a carrier from outside the region providing the transportation.

"I think everybody saw the logic to that. It's very important that these games succeed for all the obvious reasons," added the Air Jamaica CEO.  

The games will be played in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer shares Conway's optimism of getting spectators to the various venues by air on time.

"There are plans in place to do that. There are one or two areas of concern which we've looked at, but these are areas which we believe we can resolve well on time for Cricket World Cup," he said.

For the Caribbean islands whose governments have injected millions of dollars in infrastructural development in preparation for the Cricket World Cup, there is also the socio-economic spin off to be had.

"The eyes of the world will be intensely focused on the region over the next few weeks as we invite the world to the region to participate in the ICC World Cup cricket matches of 2007," said St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas.

"This most challenging undertaking can provide the entire region the opportunity to shine and to demonstrate to the world the resourcefulness and the immense capabilities of our people here in the Caribbean region. But at the same time any hiccup of any kind can bring international embarrassment to this our proud and progressive region."  

The nine countries hosting the games, along with Dominica, have established a single domestic space to facilitate and encourage easier travel between the islands, and despite earlier criticism that a special Caribbean Community (CARICOM) visa needed for citizens of some countries to visit the region for the games, would seriously affect the region's tourism industry, that appears not to be the case.

Barbados Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who heads the CARICOM sub-committee overseeing security for the games, said most of the kinks associated with the introduction of visa had been resolved and furthermore, regional states have not witnessed any fall-out from the introduction of the visa.

"There has not been the level of decline that was predicted and while there have been some difficulties the truth is that we have not seen the problems and certainly not the catastrophic consequences that have been predicted," she told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

The international police organisation (INTERPOL) as well as Britain, the United States and other countries have been providing  information to help the host nations in their bid to filter potential security risks for the March 5 to April 28 games.

Caribbean countries seeking to establish a CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that would allow for the free movement of skills, goods, services and labour across the region, have already indicated that certain aspects of the security arrangements used in the World Cup would be re-examined in a bid to secure their own CSME.

Mottley said the regional leaders would make a firm decision in June on what aspects of the security platform would be retained after the games. But the regional leaders have already agreed that the Barbados-based joint regional centre, which was set up to pre clear all air and sea passengers arriving in the Caribbean, as well as the Trinidad-based Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre would be retained after the tournament.

"They have also agreed to commission a task force of foreign ministers, security ministers as well as ministers of tourism to look at the feasibility of the common Caribbean visa issuance system and to determine if after appropriate rationalisation, it should become a permanent fixture of the region to enable multi destination travel.

”They have also agreed that they will commission a study to see how best we could implement aspects of the single domestic space in the long term," Mottley added.

CMC/db/pr/pk/07