Above: Montserrat

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Montserrat Tourism Board and the Montserrat Development Corporation have been merged, the government announced.

A statement from the island’s government said the move was “in keeping with its thrust to enhance the contribution of the tourism sector to economic activity.”

The merger officially took effect June 1.

The government said both the MDC and MTB were responsible for promoting Montserrat as a destination, with MDC targeting investment and MTB targeting visitors.

But the government said that the MTB had been “unable to deliver its full mandate over the past two years, mainly due to a weak institutional framework and minimum resources.”

The MDC, however, “has been able to achieve the continuity and direction previously lacking and which are now producing positive outcomes in Little Bay and elsewhere” the government said.

Under the new organizational structure, the government said that a Director of Tourism would be appointed, who would report directly to the Chief Executive of the MDC and join its management team.

For now, arrangements are being made to transfer the technical staff of the Tourist Board into the new Division, the government said, with a “reassessment of roles and responsibilities then required to ensure that skills and responsibilities match the requirements of the integrated organization.”

Montserrat has been on a new push to promote tourism and development on the island.

Earlier this year, the MDC offered its ideas at a Caribbean Journal Forum event in Miami. (Click here for more information).

http://caribjournal.wpengine.com/2014/03/13/the-rebirth-of-montserrat/