Cricket legend, Brian Lara, was present in Las Vegas, his second consecutive appearance at World Routes following his debut in Abu Dhabi last year, where he happily completed a public question and answer session with delegates in cooperation with Routesonline.

This time he had some big news, revealing that Birmingham Airport and Trinidad & Tobago Airports Authority will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the World Travel Market in London next month to become Sister Airports.

Lara, who is the Tourism Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago played for Warwickshire Cricket Club in the 1990s, said that he and fellow sportsman, Dwight Yorke who played for Aston Villa, feel a synergy with the Midlands and the two countries share many cultural and historic traditions due to the long relationship between the UK and Trinidad and Tobago.

Also, the Midlands has a large Caribbean diaspora, so forging a formal relationship, which was long overdue, will now pave the way for mutual benefits to be achieved by both entities. The MOU signifies a formal arrangement by both parties to work collaboratively, sharing common data for efficiencies and best practices in the industry.

The HUB spoke exclusively to Brian Lara to find out more about the agreement and his role as Tourism Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago.