Island Routes tour department has partnered with the Sandals chain of resorts to offer its clients a uniquely Saint Lucian tour and transfer experience. Island Routes has been working diligently with local tour suppliers, one of whom is entrepreneur Kim Marius. Island Routes is a Caribbean company operating within a number of Caribbean destinations, currently operational in eleven, such as Aruba, St. Martin, Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic. VP of Sales for Island Routes, David Shields, based in Montego Bay, says, “After our six years in business, we have been expanding aggressively throughout the region.”
“In the short history of the company, we have grown extensively, delivering tours and excursions throughout the region,” Shields said. Island Routes focuses on transfers of guests from the airports to the hotels and delivering tours and excursions. “Our business philosophy is to work extensively with local businesses and entrepreneurs to facilitate the growth of their entrepreneurial activities, and to ensure that they can deliver to guests the most amazing experience,” he stated. Island Routes relies heavily on the management principles that protect guests and ensures that there is risk- and incident-management in place to ensure that the overall experience is a positive one, highlighting what is unique to the destinations.
All partners here of Island Routes are Saint Lucian -based and operational on the island. “In Saint Lucia we own no assets, so all the partnerships we establish are with local entrepreneurs, facilitating businesses,” said Shields. According to Shields, among the eleven destinations Island Routes represents, Saint Lucia accounts for approximately 20% of its business.
The company boasted over one million bookings last year alone; one hundred thousand guest experiences were delivered in Saint Lucia. “We are very proud of that affiliation because we are taking in excess of 100,000 guests.” The newly appointed local Eastern Caribbean destination manager is Nichola Cozier.
