After previous successes in Cancun, Mexico; Lima, Peru and last year in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the fifth Routes Americas event will open later today in the stunning Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The event is expected to be the largest Routes Americas forum to date with record delegate numbers expected to attend over the coming three days. The event is being hosted by Nassau Airport Development Company (NADC) and their key partners Atlantis and the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Bureau.
With increasing registrations from the core airline and airport markets, this year’s Routes Americas reinforces its position as the largest commercial aviation event for the entire Americas region and over the coming three years there will be greater emphasis on this part of the globe as the showcase World Routes event is also due to take place in Las Vegas in October 2013 and then in Chicago in September 2014.
This year’s event has captured interest from the full spectrum of airlines and airports. In the airline meeting halls delegates from small regional carriers will sit alongside the major US low-cost carriers such as JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, and major network carriers such as American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways and the three largest carriers from Latin America – GOL, LAN and TAM. They will be meeting delegates representing more than 380 airports ranging from small regional facilities in the Caribbean to the largest of them all Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“The growth of this event mirrors the growth in the economic climate within the Americas and the demand from the air service development community to meet at one event for the entire region,” said Nigel Mayes, VP & Commercial of Routes. “Routes Americas is the most significant platform where air links both within and across continents can be discussed and new air services are born.”
The development of new air services is key to economic growth across the world and that is not more clearly defined than in the Caribbean region. Air services are the lifeblood of the Caribbean islands and without them economies cannot trade with one another and visitors cannot readily travel between them. In these idyllic waters, tourism is vital for development and accounts for an estimated 16.6 per cent of the Caribbean region’s GDP. In some countries this figure is significantly higher with estimates of 31 per cent in St Lucia and 29 per cent in Antigua, Barbuda and in the Bahamas.
At tonight’s welcome reception Stewart Steeves, President and CEO of Nassau Airport Development Company, will provide some more information on the current development work that is taking place at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau to enhance facilities to support future visitors into the country.
“The importance of Nassau as the gateway or hub for the islands of The Bahamas cannot be over-stated” added David Johnson, Director General of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation. “The fact that this is an Americas forum is important to note, because we can now claim to be firmly connected to the Americas, with the addition of the Copa Airlines service from Panama City, directly connecting the islands of The Bahamas to South America, Central America and closing the circle around the United States of America, Canada and the Caribbean.”
Ahead of the welcome reception, the event will be launched with the open this afternoon of the Routes Americas Strategy Forum, where senior officials from the industry will debate some of the key topics impacting the business. These will include the big issue of aviation taxation, something that has impacted the Caribbean market in particular; privatisation of airports, including the current Brazilian process and the Americas economic environment, which we highlight the regions of strongest growth.
The event will also be the first to be attended by Phil Callow since his appointment as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UBM Aviation in January 2012. Phil has been part of the UBM leadership team since 2005 and joined UBM Aviation from sister company UBM Medica, where he was CEO for their UK data, events and marketing services businesses. He replaces Peter von Moltke, who has served as CEO since May 2009 and now holds the position of Non-Executive President of the company. Prior to joining UBM, Phil held a variety of business and consumer publishing roles within EMAP and BBC Worldwide.
Speaking exclusively to The HUB ahead of his arrival in The Bahamas this weekend, Phil Callow said: “I am excited about Routes Americas and about my new role. UBM Aviation is a world market leader in the supply of data and information products, market intelligence, news and events related to the global aviation industry and takes pride in being a pioneer in this fast-evolving industry. Our most recent products, such as OAG Alerts, are being well received, and we are in the process of developing a range of new products and solutions that will enter the market in the coming months,”
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