How Anguilla Is Expanding Traveler Options Post-Outbreak

Named chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) in July 2020, Kenroy Herbert’s initial hospitality business experience came in a much different role. An Anguilla native, he learned tourism from the ground up.

Trained as a chemist, he nevertheless found himself drawn toward hospitality. He soon began a resort career as a staff member at the premium golf course that is now part of the new Aurora Anguilla Resort.

“I had a [chemistry] scholarship and it was crazy to turn it down,” Herbert said earlier this month. “But I always wanted to be in hospitality.”

Starting as a caddie, he was determined to learn the resort operations business. Herbert met a prominent hotelier on the links and effectively talked his way into a villa manager position. Today he’s board chairman of the agency that directs Anguilla’s crucial tourism industry.

Access to Anguilla has expanded, with American Airlines recently announcing the launch of twice-weekly flights from Miami beginning December 11, the first direct flights to the island from a U.S. gateway. Frequencies will increase to three departures weekly beginning Jan. 2, 2022.

We spoke recently with Herbert to gain his insight on Anguilla’s tourism present and future.

TP: How has your tenure as ATB chairman, which began during the pandemic, progressed to this point?