The tourism sector in St. Lucia is set for massively improved numbers. That’s according to Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire.
The tourism minister who is also the island’s Deputy Prime Minister made the pronouncement at the first government briefing following the December 1st general election.
Dr Hilaire made the statement against the backdrop of the IMF’s Social and Economic Review 2025 which reported an expected moderate GDP Growth of 1.7%. The tourism minister was quick to clarify that the figures in the document were only projections, highlighting that St. Lucia was trending with upward momentum. One notable example, he identified, was November 2025, which recorded numbers in the face of moderate projected figures. The impressive numbers were registered even with an actual decrease in rooms in the north of the island. “We are looking forward to a winter of increased arrivals. We see a slight increase in our airlift as well and that augers quite well for us. In January we will see the opening of LifeCo at Mount Pimard which again will be a very significant addition to our tourism product.”
The Deputy Prime Minister was adamant that 2026 was going to prove to be a transformative year particularly in the context of the island’s tourism industry. “For my part, I expect for us to have an expansion in our Community Tourism efforts. A lot has been achieved but we really need to look forward to taking off next year with quite a bit of community products coming online. We will see the completion of the GPH projects, the boardwalk on the waterfront, the Banannes Bay redevelopment, we will revisit it, the Soufriere Waterfront will also see an acceleration of works.”
The creative sector, according to Hilaire will also receive a tremendous boost while Export St. Lucia will be handed an increased mandate to do more.
The Ministry of Commerce, which is a new responsibility for Dr. Hilaire is seen as the final piece of the puzzle that brings the entire picture together.
Monday’s press briefing followed the first cabinet meeting after the Prime Minister and the rest of the cabinet of ministers were sworn into office.
The new Cabinet of Ministers is expected to next meet in the new year, January 5th, 2026.