TravelWise with Phil Blizzard

Anguila - the .AI capital of the World and cricket legend Joel Gardner on Sports Tourism

• Phil Blizzard • Season 25 • Episode 7

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What if a small Caribbean island could turn sport and technology into a tourism superpower? Phil Blizzard talks with Anguilla’s Minister of Health, Tourism and Sports, Cardigan Connor, and cricket great Joel Gardner to unpack a strategy that blends tennis and golf events, boat racing heritage, and a surprising digital advantage: the .AI domain.

Connor shares how Anguilla plans to scale sports tourism with the Anguilla Cup, a world-class Greg Norman golf course, and youth programmes that lead to scholarships, jobs, and professional pathways. He explains why boat racing remains the island’s heartbeat and how cricket links Anguilla to a wider Caribbean legacy. The conversation pivots to technology as Connor argues that .AI must be more than a revenue stream; it should fund education, bring global conventions and awards to the island, and prepare young people to build and work with AI. By merging destination marketing with real skills, Anguilla positions itself as both a place to play and a place to learn.

Gardner then makes the case for Caribbean cricket as a training destination with soul. He recalls county tours, outlines the facilities and pre-season windows, and contrasts Barbados’ loud, lively matchdays with quieter English grounds. With rivals like Dubai drawing teams away, he believes the region can win by showcasing authentic culture, community energy, and tournaments that have already launched West Indies talent. Together these stories reveal a blueprint for resilient tourism: anchor events, invest in pathways, and use technology to amplify identity rather than replace it.

If you’re curious about how destinations can fuse sport, culture, and AI to create real value for locals and travellers alike, this conversation is a must-listen. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves cricket or tech, and leave a review to tell us which sports event you’d fly to see first.

SPEAKER_06:

Travel Wise with Phil Blizzard. News, views, and interviews.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the winter season of Travel Wise with Phil Blizzard, which will feature a mix of insightful interviews with travel and tourism industry leaders from across the Caribbean countries, along with off the beaten-track travel vignettes from several destinations in Thailand as well as Turkey. In this podcast, Phil Blizzard discovers that Anguilla is the AI capital of the world as he talks, the Honorable Cardigan Connor, Minister of Health, Tourism and Sports, Anguilla, and also cricket legend Joel Gardner about his role in promoting the sport. So let's get traveling with Travel Wise.

SPEAKER_05:

Travel Wise with Phil Blizzard.

SPEAKER_03:

Coming around the Caribbean, and uh my final interview has been a fascinating few days. Tell us your name, who you represent, and the nation you represent.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Uh Cardigan Connor, I'm from Anguilla, um, the Minister of Health, Tourism and Sports.

SPEAKER_03:

Right, sports we're going to talk about, we're going to talk about.ai. But first of all, the conference is about um tourism, uh, the state of play, basically. And I say play because you're a former cricketer. Sure. And we're going to be talking sport. What's it been like for you? What have you achieved in the first six months of this year?

SPEAKER_01:

That's a very good question. What have I achieved? It's always that the challenge is always when you're transitioning from one government to the next. The fortunate thing is that having been in government uh before, uh, then I've got a pretty good idea of exactly what is expected. With uh tourism and sports, uh, I was actually that was actually a portfolio I I had before uh in 2015 uh to 2020 as parliamentary secretary. So in that sense, it was a case of just picking up from where we left off. And and the key was to make sure that we build on the foundation that was laid. And one of the things that we wanted to bring uh to the industry was really uh sports tourism. Because when you consider that for what we do right now in Angola, I think we cover quite a bit regarding selling the beaches and the hotels. But there's something special about and it's all about people.

SPEAKER_03:

Which sports are you gonna be focusing on?

SPEAKER_01:

We're gonna focus on tennis. Uh again, that will be played what we call the uh the Angola Cup that will be played uh in November of of next year. And and also golf. Golf is another sport that that again, a beautiful golf course designed in uh by Greg Norman at Aurora in Angola. And there are a number of uh of tours and and companies that that will take advantage of that, but also more and more personnel from the Caribbean are very much interested in the game, but but but ultimately it it is about introducing the game to our youngsters as well, that one day they can either have a job from that, get some scholarships, and even end up being a professional athlete at it.

SPEAKER_03:

That's what I was gonna ask you. What sort of level are you targeting? But I think you've covered it all there in that response. Yeah, and the other sport, your national sport.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, the th well boat racing is regarded as our national sport, and there's something special about that in the sense that all of the island is is into it. It has a history to it, that's why we call it a national sport. Cricket is what more of the Caribbean can relate us to, whether myself having played at Hampshire for a number of years, Omari Banks and Jamar Hamilton having played for the West Indies, even Casey Cardi, who although born in St. Martin represents Angola. But but again, I think is is that although we play majority of the sports that's out there, the football, basketball, but again on a small island of 15,000 population, you tend to again focus on those that can take us to places and even track and feel. If you consider that in England right now, or Britain, I mean you got Zonel Hughes, who is the record holder in a hundred meters and two hundred, again, born in Angola, represented Angola up to the age of 17, 18, and then went off to and is now representing Great Britain. It is, it is, and I think what is what is vitally important is that when we talk about tourism and everybody's involved, we also want to bring something to our people to say that they can actually be part of it. It's not just you know working in in the industry, but actually competing and be an attraction as well.

SPEAKER_03:

Now the other aspect of this conference has been research, data collection. You are the place for data with having the the domain dot AI. So I mean apart from being uh a very wealthy economic driver, bringing lots of revenue to your your government, what else can you do with it?

SPEAKER_01:

We can do a lot, it's about education. You know, you know what is what is vitally interesting is you have to move ahead of the times. We can't just focus on how we grow up and the likes. But the fact is it's here today and the world is using it. And the fact that Little Angola, our small island, is the one the island that's associated with.ai. We have to do the best that we can to take advantage of that or or utilize it. And the best way to do that is to make sure that our youngsters are educated through.ai, that they're very proficient in it, and again, so it really means something when we say that Angola is the home of.ai.

SPEAKER_03:

So what events will you be having to support your development of AI?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, we'll have the awards, the.ai awards, that again is is is easy. We will look to have a number of conventions where we can bring in the the best of them to Angola. So it is a case of.ai means something. It's not just something that's out there in space. It is if it's linked to this island, a small, beautiful island in the Caribbean, it then it sells a story even more. So I think I think God has blessed us with a beautiful island and the fact that the world wants to tap into dot AI. And it gives us a great vehicle for us to really promote our destination as well.

SPEAKER_03:

I think you said blessed. I think doubly blessed. Doubly blessed, yes.

SPEAKER_01:

We thank God every day, morning and night. Morning and night.

SPEAKER_03:

Big smile on your face, set it on.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, why why wouldn't I be?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, thank you very much indeed for joining us on Breaking Travel News and uh wish you well with the World Travel Awards.ai. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for for your time and thank you for spreading the word about Angola and.ai.

SPEAKER_05:

Travel wise with Phil Blizzard.

SPEAKER_06:

News, views, and interviews.

SPEAKER_03:

Breaking travel news in Bermuda, looking at tourism, looking at sports tourism right now, and with me have the pleasure to talk to Joel Gardner, sporting legend, and helping to sell sports tourism. So welcome to our uh interview here.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03:

So we have something in common. You play for Somerset. I'm from Somerset, so do you have memories of Western Super Mayor?

SPEAKER_02:

I have full memories of Somerset, all over Somerset. I was there up to about two weeks ago. I went to Glastonbury, I went to street, I was you know you went to the festival.

SPEAKER_03:

That's not festival.

SPEAKER_02:

No, no, no, no, no. I meant I went there promoting promoting cricket.

SPEAKER_03:

So yeah, promoting cricket, that's what you're doing. And uh how are you doing it here and across the world to promote sports tourism across the Caribbean?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, what we've been doing is inviting the different teams. Um what all we're doing is building on what we had before. And I think what we have to do is go and we we we sell it again and encourage people to come around and play with us because most of the you you would look around and see that a lot of the fellows who are playing junior cricket for the West Indies or playing cricket for the West Indies would have come through the tournaments that we ran.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we're saying on your panel discussion that other countries, other destinations are taking away some of the training aspects. I'm thinking of Dubai, because that's where we're based.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that that is one of the colours. Previously, um we had four four companies come in every year, four different counties. Hampshire is about the only county that was consistent, and they sort of took one of the grounds, local grounds, and said, okay, this is our designated ground. But but I think that what what is happening is that we have to go and let them know that we still have the facilities available for them to have you know proper cricket free season.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Well, it's my first time in Barbade. I was wondering a wonderful uh first few days. When is the main cricket season here?

SPEAKER_02:

Our cricket season used to be um during during your cricket summer, but they've adjusted it. And we would start sometimes in October and go right away through February, March, but there's some you know odd cricket competitions going on. I think we'll have cricket on this weekend as well.

SPEAKER_03:

So as a visitor to Barbados, I'm just wondering the atmosphere here is legendary. How does it compare with cricket in the UK?

SPEAKER_02:

No comparison, no comparison. Um, it's loud, it's noisy, um, it's everything else opposite than what you would you would encounter in England.

SPEAKER_03:

So sounds absolutely wonderful. So look forward to seeing it some stage. And Joel, thank you very much indeed for joining us. It's my pleasure. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05:

Travel-wise with Phil Blizzard, news, views, and interviews.

SPEAKER_04:

And then if you'd like to have your own podcast, do drop me an email on PhilBlizzardmedia at gmail.com. A PhilBlizzard Radio Production. Available on Apple, Amazon, Engami, Spotify, Deezer, and all good podcast channels, and also now on YouTube.