Caribbean News
AIRLINE EXECUTIVE LAUDS SANDALS RESORTS INVESTMENT IN CARIBBEAN TOURISM
…commends resort company for continuing to open new destinations
May 30, 2024, Montego Bay, Jamaica – Chief Executive Officer of Inter-Caribbean Airlines Trevor Sadler has praised Sandals Resorts for its commitment to the growth and development of regional tourism, as it continues to open new resorts creating employment and generating economic activity for islands all over the Caribbean.
Sadler was in attendance at the recent Sandals Travel Advisor Recognition (STAR) Awards held at the newly opened Sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines resort. The event, which is held by Sandals to recognise its top producing travel advisors from all over the world, also brought hundreds of travel advisors to the islands, many for the very first time.
The Inter-Caribbean Airlines boss said the drive to invest in new territories and to promote the destinations themselves, underlies not only the power and stability of the brand, but the belief the company has in the potential of the Caribbean. Sadler added that his own airline has benefited from the Sandals Effect, recalling when the company took its Beaches brand to the Turks and Caicos Islands some 27 years ago, “that by itself drove a lot of tourism, but it also drove economic activity, the need for more employees, and for Inter-Caribbean it was one of those early developments of connecting the Turks and Caicos particularly with Jamaica, the Dominican
Republic and other islands that set us on the path of growth.”
In fact during those early years Sadler said Sandals Founder the late Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart would often offer words of encouragement to his own Chairman and Founder Lyndon Gardiner, “Mr. Stewart would stop in and he would say hello to Lyndon, he would always give him some counsel, some guidance, and ‘Butch’ Stewart became really a mentor for Lyndon. He guided Lyndon and helped him think about developing the business, so we as a company, have to say thanks to Butch Stewart.”
Sadler said he was pleased to see Sandals continuing to take a leading role in Caribbean tourism under its new Executive Chairman Adam Stewart, “here is Adam following in the footsteps of his father and the legacy that was created by him. His father’s relationship with and advice allowed my own chairman (Lyndon Gardiner) to build Inter-Caribbean Airlines and to overcome the obstacles that were in front of him allowing us to achieve what we have now become today as an airline. We are by no means done, but certainly that support has helped Inter-Caribbean to become one of the best recognised airline brands across the Caribbean.”
Sadler also supported the position of the Sandals Executive Chairman that the Caribbean must be united as a destination and promote itself as such, because together it has so much more to offer visitors. He said Inter-Caribbean stands ready to help connect destinations, allowing brands like Sandals to sell multi-destination holidays, “an island may have a different name, but it’s not multiple hours on an airplane to get there, it may be one hour or two hours away for the most. Visitors can do it, because they won’t be giving away a day of their vacation, just a couple hours to get to a whole new destination, and you begin this new experience. People take on board this whole new realisation that because we change the name of the country doesn’t mean it take hours and hours to get there.”
Sadler also underscored the importance of events like the STAR Awards, “The US is a key source market for us as an airline, as well as Sandals, so having the opportunity to speak to the top roughly 400 travel agents of the US, Canada and the UK is not a value you can put a number on.”
Sadler further surprised attending travel advisors by giving away two tickets to each of them to destinations where Inter-Caribbean flies.
Captions – From L to R: Inter-Caribbean Airlines CEO Trevor Sadler speaks with Gary Sadler, Executive VP of Sales and Industry Relations at Unique Vacations Inc., an affiliate of the worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches Resorts
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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