“4 Island – One Escape” - A Dream Reawakened
The recent announcement of the “4 Island – One Escape” island-hopping experience is a welcome and exciting development for regional tourism in the Northeast Caribbean. It promises to offer travelers a seamless, multi-island adventure that celebrates the diversity and charm of our interconnected destinations. But while this initiative is commendable, it is not entirely new. In fact, it is the revival, perhaps unknowingly, of a visionary concept born more than three decades ago.
In the early 1990s, the Northeastern Caribbean Tourism Alliance (NECTA) was established under the leadership of my person, then Director of Marketing for Winair. At a time when regional collaboration was more aspiration than action, I saw the potential of uniting the islands served by Winair—St. Maarten, Saba, Statia, St. Barths, and others, into a cohesive tourism product. The vision was simple yet powerful: promote the Northeast Caribbean not as fragmented destinations, but as a single, rich, and varied experience.
NECTA was more than a talking shop. It brought together the Tourism Directors of the islands, coordinated joint marketing efforts, and even launched its own travel magazine, Le Tropical, to showcase the region’s offerings to the world. It was a bold, strategic move that positioned the airline not just as a carrier, but as a catalyst for regional tourism development.
Sadly, the momentum was halted by the devastation of Hurricane Luis in 1995, which disrupted infrastructure, strained resources, and ultimately led to the alliance’s quiet dissolution. But the idea never truly died. It lingered in the hearts of those who believed in the power of regional unity and the magic of multi-island travel.
Today, as we applaud the launch of “4 Island – One Escape,” we must also honor the legacy of NECTA and foresight. This new initiative stands on the shoulders of a dream that was ahead of its time, a dream that envisioned the Caribbean not as a collection of competitors, but as a family of destinations with a shared story to tell.
To the architects of this new chapter: may your efforts flourish. And may you find inspiration in the path once charted by NECTA. Because sometimes, the best way forward is to remember where the journey began.
— 𝐀 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒.𝐂.𝐑. 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐂. 𝐀𝐋𝐁.