CAL forges closer TT, Curaçao ties

CARIBBEAN Airlines (CAL) communications manager Dionne Ligoure said the airline's new service to Curaçao represents another milestone for CAL as it strives to close the gaps in the region and bring its people closer together.
Ligoure made these comments at a function at the Netherlands Ambassador's residence at One Woodbrook Place, Port of Spain, on Tuesday night.
Ligoure said the success for this route will continue once all the stakeholders keep working together.
"That is what we intend to do."
CAL launched its Curaçao service on August 2. The flights will run twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays, leaving Piarco at 11.55 am, with return flights from Curaçao at 2.35 pm.
This is the third new route CAL has launched in the last year and a half. Last January, it added flights from Trinidad to Cuba; last March, from St Vincent to New York; and last May from Barbados to Kingston, Jamaica. The new Curaçao flights provide seamless connections to and from Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, New York and other destinations.
Ligoure also said the service provides better opportunities to promote tourism, trade and culture. She observed the latter was important with Carifesta taking place in TT this year and a large Curaçao contingent coming to the festival.
David Mitchell of Boarding Pass Travels said CAL's flights to Curaçao align perfectly with the company's strategies to market the Netherland's "ABC" (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) islands in the Caribbean to the rest of the world. Mitchell was part of a contingent of Dutch media personnel who came to TT recently and visited several tourism sites such as the Asa Wright Nature Centre and the Pitch Lake.
According to its website, Boarding Pass Travels offers a variety of travel-related products and promotes travel to destinations such as Colombia, Suriname, Costa Rica, Cuba and the United States.
Dutch charge d'affaires Cor Stouten echoed the sentiments of Ligoure and Mitchell, saying CAL's flights between TT and Curaçao were another milestone in the close collaboration on economic progress and tourism between the two countries.