PRESS RELEASE – THE Saint Lucia Tourism Authority is working closely with sixteen other public and private sector agencies, brought together to advise on a holistic view of Saint Lucia’s tourism product. The member agencies assembled for a strategic planning meeting of the Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC) over a 2-day period – August 31 and September 5, 2018 – under the chairmanship of Tourism Minister, Honourable Dominic Fedee.
Saint Lucia, in many ways, is pioneering this kind of inter-agency exchange and working towards the overall management and governance of tourism to improve the inputs and overarching national development goals and objectives.
Minister Fedee noted that, “Developing the island’s tourism product and a competitive tourism industry is a catalyst for sustainable national development. I am really inspired by what I have seen so far as this forum is the greatest exchange of information that I have experienced in the tourism industry.”
This Committee is a multi-stakeholder advisory grouping and comprises both public and private representatives with an interest in bolstering tourism development and management.
Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Mrs. Tiffany Howard said, “The meeting of the Tourism Advisory Committee has helped to shape the direction of the Tourism Council. The aim is for the Council to compliment the work of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and to ensure that the island’s tourism product continues to grow.”
Among the priorities for the Tourism Advisory Committee are tackling the high cost of airfares to the island; strengthening linkages across the tourism sector; increasing incentives to small businesses; and raising greater awareness of Saint Lucia as a tourism destination.
The plan is for the Tourism Advisory Committee to evolve into the island’s Tourism Council that will act as a sounding board and point of dialogue between the government, statutory bodies and the tourism industry. It will also facilitate partnerships among the public and private sectors, and seek to resolve long standing bottle necks which impede product development and enhancement, while generating consensus on the way forward for the development and management of the tourism sector in Saint Lucia.
The Committee is chaired by the Tourism Minister and includes senior representatives of the Ministry of Tourism; the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Physical Planning; the Ministry of Infrastructure; the Ministry of Transport; the Ministry of Commerce/Business; the Ministry of Economic Planning/Development; the Ministry of Security; the Ministry of Agriculture; the Ministry of Manufacturing Association; Invest Saint Lucia; the Saint Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority; the National Conservation Authority; the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association; and the Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. (SLTA)