St. George’s, January 31, 2011 - The Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada, also known as MAYAG, has received grant funds valued at approximately $70,000 Eastern Caribbean Dollars from the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (also known as the ‘CDE’) to support a marketing project aimed at promoting the growth of the sector. The funds will provide an opportunity for the Grenada’s yachting sector to identify new markets, develop a marketing plan to reach those markets as well as creating marketing materials and publishing the next edition of Grenada’s Marine Guide.
The marketing project will focus on branding Grenada globally as the ultimate yachting destination. “This grant provides an opportunity for Grenada’s yachting sector to increase its presence in the global marketplace” said MAYAG President, Anita Sutton. “Most of MAYAG’s Members are small and medium size enterprises, and the costs of advertising in the global marketing place are very high. By pooling our resources and effectively promoting Grenada as the ultimate yachting destination we will stretch our advertising dollars much further”. This project is very important for Grenada, as MAYAG estimates that the sector already contributes approximately $70 million XCD to Grenada’s economy per year, providing over 400 direct jobs and supporting at least 300 more jobs in the service industry and restaurants that make money from yachting visitors.
Consultants working on the project include the lead marketing expert Russell Jarman Price who resides in St. Patrick’s Grenada. While living in the UK, Mr. Jarman Price co-founded ‘Still Price Court’, one of the fastest growing advertising agencies ever with clients such as Coca-Cola and Virgin Atlantic. Three Grenadians will also make up the project team: Tony McQuilkin, a publisher and photojournalist, and Rosetta Weston, a business process re-engineering consultant and Jennifer Ellard-Alexis, a sustainable development specialist who is MAYAG’s proposal writer & project coordinator. For more information, email mayag@spiceisle.com or visit www.cde.int or www.mayag.net
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
EMERGENCY YACHTLINE LAUNCHED AS GRENADA’S YACHT CRIME DECLINES
Jennifer Ellard-Alexis, St. Georges, January, 2010 – The Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada (MAYAG) has teamed up with the Royal Grenada Police Force(RGPF) for the second year in a row to preserve the safety and security enjoyed by cruisers visting Grenada.
According to visitor survey’s conducted by the Marine and Yachting Association, yachting visitors ranked ‘safety and security’ as a number one consideration when deciding where to visit and where to sail. Naturally, this means that Grenada’s safety record is important to the sector. Grenada recognizes the importance of safety and security to yachts andenjoys a reputation for being a relatively safe destination. MAYAG is actively working to ensure it stays that way. “We recognize that as there is a very small percentage of Grenadians engaged in criminal activity, there is a correspondingly small proportion of yachting visitors who are involved in illegal activities, and we welcome this partnership with the RGPF in keeping this place a haven for yachts “ MAYAG Chairperson Anita Sutton said at the January 21st launch of the emergency yachtline.
While explaining why the Royal Grenada Police Force had created a dedicated hotline for yachts, Supt. James, Commander of Grenada’s Drug Squad expressed how happy he was that the drug squad is partnering with MAYAG and the wider yachting community. He reported that the Region is threatened by the drug trade, and “society is the victim of the [drug] trade”; making it clear that Grenada had no intention of becoming one of those victims. Supt. James made it clear that the yachtline is for reporting security problems and energencies; however he also encouraged yachting visitors to use the yachtline to report any suspicious activity they see taking place – and that may include drug trafficking.
To launch what MAYAG calls the ‘emergency yachtline’; MAYAG brought together RGPF Commanders from the Drug Squad, the Criminal Investigations Department and the Coast Guard to meet with yachting interests in Grenada. The launch is the second meeting of it’s kind organized by MAYAG. The first security meeting held in March 2010 was such a success, it is likely to become an annual event. “Cruisers reported a need for improved police communications and emergency response in our 2010 security meeting”, MAYAG’s Vice Chair, Mr. Pascall said. The yachtline will address a great deal of that, but the yachtline is not the only measure MAYAG, cruisers, and the police are working on together. The community is working on raising funds to provide the Coast Guard with a number of the hardware assets required to improve their ability to keep Grenada safe, as well as seeing for better border security with the implmentation of eSeaClear.
Coast Guard Commander, Supt. Griffith who was recently posted as the new Commander of the Grenada Coast Guard, made it clear that cooperation between the police, yachting businesses and cruisers was essential for preventing the rise of crime. He also re-iterated the high level of regional cooperation which yachting visitors may not always be aware of. He cited cases of successful partnership with the Coastguard of Trinidad and Tobago, and mentioned some of the practical support available to the Grenada Coastguard regionally.
Grenada’s CID reports that maritime crimes have gone down from 10 incidents in 2009 to 9 incidents in 2010. Grenada’s 24/7 Emergency Yachtline is 473-405-7490.
According to visitor survey’s conducted by the Marine and Yachting Association, yachting visitors ranked ‘safety and security’ as a number one consideration when deciding where to visit and where to sail. Naturally, this means that Grenada’s safety record is important to the sector. Grenada recognizes the importance of safety and security to yachts andenjoys a reputation for being a relatively safe destination. MAYAG is actively working to ensure it stays that way. “We recognize that as there is a very small percentage of Grenadians engaged in criminal activity, there is a correspondingly small proportion of yachting visitors who are involved in illegal activities, and we welcome this partnership with the RGPF in keeping this place a haven for yachts “ MAYAG Chairperson Anita Sutton said at the January 21st launch of the emergency yachtline.
While explaining why the Royal Grenada Police Force had created a dedicated hotline for yachts, Supt. James, Commander of Grenada’s Drug Squad expressed how happy he was that the drug squad is partnering with MAYAG and the wider yachting community. He reported that the Region is threatened by the drug trade, and “society is the victim of the [drug] trade”; making it clear that Grenada had no intention of becoming one of those victims. Supt. James made it clear that the yachtline is for reporting security problems and energencies; however he also encouraged yachting visitors to use the yachtline to report any suspicious activity they see taking place – and that may include drug trafficking.
To launch what MAYAG calls the ‘emergency yachtline’; MAYAG brought together RGPF Commanders from the Drug Squad, the Criminal Investigations Department and the Coast Guard to meet with yachting interests in Grenada. The launch is the second meeting of it’s kind organized by MAYAG. The first security meeting held in March 2010 was such a success, it is likely to become an annual event. “Cruisers reported a need for improved police communications and emergency response in our 2010 security meeting”, MAYAG’s Vice Chair, Mr. Pascall said. The yachtline will address a great deal of that, but the yachtline is not the only measure MAYAG, cruisers, and the police are working on together. The community is working on raising funds to provide the Coast Guard with a number of the hardware assets required to improve their ability to keep Grenada safe, as well as seeing for better border security with the implmentation of eSeaClear.
Coast Guard Commander, Supt. Griffith who was recently posted as the new Commander of the Grenada Coast Guard, made it clear that cooperation between the police, yachting businesses and cruisers was essential for preventing the rise of crime. He also re-iterated the high level of regional cooperation which yachting visitors may not always be aware of. He cited cases of successful partnership with the Coastguard of Trinidad and Tobago, and mentioned some of the practical support available to the Grenada Coastguard regionally.
Grenada’s CID reports that maritime crimes have gone down from 10 incidents in 2009 to 9 incidents in 2010. Grenada’s 24/7 Emergency Yachtline is 473-405-7490.
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