Above: Dominica (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Last year, Dominica’s government finalized its status as a shareholder in regional air carrier LIAT, and Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said recently that the decision was the right move for the country.

“This administration has taken the decision to become a shareholder in the regional airline because we see LIAT as an important contributor to the efforts at improving and enhancing air access to Dominica,” he said this week.

Dominica has already invested $3 million in the regional carrier, funding which he said would help facilitate the purchase of new aircraft and create “new opportunities for more

visitors to come to our island as well as to facilitate the movement of citizens to Dominica.”

According to Tourism Minister Ian Douglas, LIAT is responsible for approximately 70 percent of air arrivals to Dominica.

“Tourism today is the bedrock upon which the economy sits,” he said. “We generated $300 million dollars into the economy and LIAT is a contributor to that.”