[dropcap]A[/dropcap]multi-stakeholder advisory committee with the goal of bolstering tourism development in Saint Lucia was launched on Friday, May 25. The hope is that the committee will establish itself as a platform to discuss emerging tourism trends, opportunities, challenges and solutions. The group’s chairperson, tourism minister Mr. Dominic Fedee said: “Today is a transformative and history-making day. Today we have a great opportunity to take our industry to the next level. It is for the committee to ensure each representative understands the other’s challenges.”
He explained that one focus will be to get the ministry of agriculture to “understand not only that this is an opportunity to create more employment and business for our farmers, but it also adds to the produce of Saint Lucia.”
Fedee added: “The committee gives us the chance to better coordinate with the police force on a number of challenges we face and to better communicate how their actions or inactions impact tourism.”
Also attending was Prime Minister Allen Chastanet who said: “The most important thing is to come up with a common measurable finish plan. The problem we continuously experience in this country is we do not have an agreement as to who we are. If we don’t know who we are, how do we measure our success? The finishing line is who we are!”
The prime minister linked his statement with the rebranding of “Saint Lucia Simply Beautiful” to “Let Her Inspire You”. The tagline must fit, he emphasized, if the tourism product is to be successful.
Mr. Chastanet revealed that the new group is starting off as a committee, but the intention is very quickly to be able to pass related legislation for it to become a formal body. The committee will comprise representatives from the newly established Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Invest Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority, Ministry of Security, and other entities including the Ministry of Finance.
