Comments on: Saint Lucia Continues Record-Breaking Tourism Growth in 2015

By: Eddie Elmes

Eddie Elmes — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 21:19:16 +0000

Totally agree with both comments. However even when tourism figures are up, the majority of these are from cruise ships.
The tourists who fly in almost always stay at all inclusive hotels. Rodney Bay at night is more quiet every year with bars & restaurants closing within months of openening.
Did the respective governments of St Lucia never consider the impact on local vendors & prospective bar/restaurant owners when they grant permission for more & more all inclusive hotels.
As an English ex-pat who has been here for 7 years it is so depressing to see the decline of what should be the island’s premier tourist location.
As an example of the impact on the local economy I was recently at one of the island’s major resorts for lunch . Speaking to a guest who had been to this hotel on four occasions, she admitted that in all that time she had never been outside the hotel. How sad is that.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:15:51 +0000

Though it is like talking to a wall let us go through some reality.
1) When tourism was booming and potential foreign investments in St. Lucia exceeded over US$1 billion prior to the financial meltdown in 2008, the SLP Administration borrowed recklessly, spent like drunker sailors, were poor examples to the youth so that in the end we had no public savings, more debt and a decadent society. If they could not be prudent or forward thinking then are we not surprised that we still catching hell today.
2) We have had no public interventions to really improve Castries, change attitudes or instil a sense of decency in the average St. Lucia citizen. It has been a downward slide from the 1970s and tourism is just one step away from disaster every day. How can we have killings just 1/2 mile away from the cruise ships and continue to do nothing about it.

So much to do, so little time and such poor leadership or morality in this country.

By: Poor people fed up!

Poor people fed up! — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 22:08:23 +0000

that should be “quit” harassing

By: Poor People fed up!

Poor People fed up! — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 22:05:42 +0000

Well, good to hear that tourist figures are on the increase from the US and Canada, the diaspora are surely doing their part in promoting the land we love so much, where so ever we may roam:). It does not matter whether we get the props or not all we care about is for the island to be promoted and for the visitors to at least do some spending and support the vendors who have their families to feed, bills/loans to pay, rent, taxes etc. The vendors must try to avoid selling the same items but seek new items, be innovative. And finally, quite harassing the visitors, they do not like it not one bit, those taxi drivers on Jeremy street near La Place Carinage, quite harassing the tourist, be professional, build booths where the tourist walk up and choose whatever trips of their choice, then the rep calls up the taxi driver and load up the visitors on the vehicle, there should be no direct contact between the visitor and the Taxi driver, not until they board the taxi, then he is responsible for the while on the trip and back safely. Everyone has to earn a living but we turn away more by heckling them than having a professional approach.

God bless St. Lucia!