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Last Updated: Jan 12, 2012 - 11:53:31 PM |
Lionel Eli participated in the CMEx conference in St. Thomas last month.
Photo credit: Margot Jordan
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TORONTO, Canada - A leading tennis coach and sports
administrator in Canada sees the launch of nonstop Air Canada service to
St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) this winter as a
boost for sports-related tourism.
Lionel Eli, one of Canada's
highly rated and respected tennis coaches and personal trainers, said
the Virgin Islands "is not only an incredible vacation spot, but it also
is perfect for sports tourism encounters."
The long-serving
Director of Tennis and Operations at Banbury Tennis Club in northern
Toronto and Director of Tennis at Tam Heather Curling and Tennis Club in
Scarborough, said as his members hunker down for the another cold
winter, "there's nothing like nonstop service from Pearson International
Airport into the Caribbean." The non-stop St. Thomas flights, he added,
were "long overdue and right on time for athletic and leisure oriented
Canadians seeking warmer climes."
The former Barbados Davis Cup
tennis player and national coach who also works as a
rehabilitation/athletics therapist (specializing in brain and spinal
injuries), was recently in St. Thomas for the Caribbean Media Exchange
on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx) conference where he led a daily morning
workout program. Assisting him was yoga enthusiast, Clayton Sizemore,
operations manager of CNN in New York.
Eli highlighted sports
tourism as a huge opportunity for the Caribbean, and posited with the
number of professional athletes the USVI has produced, the territory is a
natural choice for sports travelers in Canada.
"People are
curious why Caribbean athletes do so well on the international scene ...
and to visit the Caribbean, train in the Caribbean and enjoy Caribbean
food, warmth and hospitality is a dream come true for many," said Eli.
Using
Airbus 319-100 aircraft, Air Canada operates weekly Saturday service
from Toronto to St. Thomas with 14 executive seats and 106 in economy.
USVI
Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty expects a 20 percent
annual increase in Canadian visitors with the new flight. "We are very
keen on forming alliances with professional, collegiate and club member
athletes and sports organizations to boost our profile in our key
markets."
Commissioner Nicholson-Doty added that the Department
of Tourism was also keen on exploring alliances with members of the
Caribbean-Canadian community to promote travel to the territory.
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