Anguilla Appoints Director of Tourism

ANGUILLA – Mrs. Candis Niles has been selected as the new Director of Tourism with the Anguilla Tourist Board. She replaces Miss Merlyn Rogers, former Director of Marketing, who had assumed the role of Acting Director upon the retirement of Mrs. Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch.

Mrs. Niles, who assumed her position with effect from July 26, 2010, is a former employee of the Anguilla Tourist Board, where she held the position of Deputy Director of Tourism from 1995-2004.

Mrs. Niles holds a Bachelors Degree in French & Spanish with Honours, and a Diploma in Education, with concentration on French, from the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Tourism Planning and Development from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, is a certified Caribbean Hospitality Trainer (CHT) with the Caribbean Tourism Organization, and Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) with the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute. She also worked previously in the public service as a Graduate Teacher and held key managerial positions in the private sector, including the Koal Keel Restaurant, Covecastles Resort and Villa View Fort in Crocus Hill.

Candis Niles – Director of Tourism
“I am honoured to have been appointed to this important position with the Anguilla Tourist Board. My prime objectives will be to increase visitor arrival figures from the island’s major markets; increase tourism revenues and create new avenues for fiscal growth; by expanding the existing primary, secondary and niche markets and to grow Anguilla’s market share” stated Mrs. Niles.

Particular emphasis will also be placed on re-sensitizing the local market to the critical role each individual plays in helping the Anguilla Tourist Board to validate its position as the ‘premier quality destination in the Caribbean.”

In speaking to the new appointment, the Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board Mr. Eustace Guishard commented, “We’re extremely pleased to welcome Mrs. Niles to our organization as we move towards implementation of the new marketing and promotional thrust that the Board envisions for Anguilla. While Anguilla has enjoyed a high level of repeat business over the years, and continues to attract a very upscale clientele, we recognize that we need to ensure that Anguilla remains relevant, viable and accessible as a tourist destination, and to remind everyone that even though it is touted as an upscale destination, Anguilla also offers affordable quality experiences through the product offering of the Charming Escapes properties. As we launch these new initiatives, we will expand and intensify our efforts to attract a greater cross-section of the new and emerging markets that correspond to our destination profile, even as we strengthen and empower the island’s human resource capacity through the delivery of key training and education programs”.

The Anguilla Tourist Board is responsible for the development and management of the island’s tourism industry, and is charged under the Tourist Board Act 2000 with the encouragement, promotion and development of tourist travel; the encouragement, promotion and development of adequate and efficient tourist services; and the establishment, maintenance and improvement of high standards of product and service quality in the tourism sector. Working in tandem with its Regional Marketing Director in the USA, and overseas Marketing Representatives in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and the Scandinavian markets, Puerto Rico and South America, the Board promotes Anguilla as the Caribbean’s premier, exclusive, quality destination experience, where ‘feeling is believing”.