Tourism Minister unaware of Buggery Law’s supposed impact on sector

Saint Lucia’s tourism officials were in a celebratory mood on Monday as they announced that the island has recorded its “best August ever”. Based on figures provided by the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA), a total of 36,342 tourists visited the island in August, the most ever recorded in this month. Commenting on the achievement, tourism minister Dominic Fedee declared that it was a clear indication that their programmes, policies and events are resonating and gaining traction with consumers, both in the region and internationally. Looking ahead to the approaching winter season, he expressed confidence that the sector will continue to grow.

This announcement comes some three weeks after the president of the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association (SLHTA), Karolin Troubetzkoy, expressed concerns over the impact on the sector of the country’s law against buggery. She groaned that as a hospitality professional, it saddens her that there are “so many travellers” from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community overseas who would not come to Saint Lucia because of the island’s criminal code which criminalizes same-sex sexual activity. She further stated that the law is outdated, and sends the wrong signal to the world. The number of potential tourists who’ve decided that they won’t visit the country because of the buggery law, remains uncertain.  Attempts at reaching Mrs. Troubetzkoy for the past three weeks have proved futile. 

“I’m not aware that it does,” Dominic Fedee told the STAR on Tuesday, when asked if the law negatively impacts the country’s most crucial sector. “I haven’t seen any numbers that suggest that there are hundreds of people that are not coming to Saint Lucia because of any specific law.” 

What the numbers do show, Fedee says, is that Saint Lucia’s tourism industry continues to grow. Referencing the 36,342 stay-over arrivals in August, the minister highlighted that there were also increases in three main markets: United States, 13%; United Kingdom, 12% and Canada, 17%.  Per data from the Central Statistical Office, total visitor arrivals to the country for the years 2014-2017 were 1,026,806, 1,088,133, 998,536 and 1,105,541, respectively. Last year Saint Lucia recorded over 1.2 million total visitor arrivals for the first time.   

“The demand for Saint Lucia is strong,” Fedee said. “I personally don’t believe that a country should change a law just because of tourism. That’s my personal view.” What needs to happen, he says, is that proper dialogue and conversation must take place, in terms of where Saint Lucians would like to go as a country, and where we see ourselves in the next 20 to 50 years. “I think we have to also consider the spiritual component. What does the church have to say? I have noted very strong opposition to changing the law from the Christian community. There certainly is more to changing the law than just for tourism,” he said.