SLHTA hosts Industry Update Conference

(Castries, Saint Lucia – February 7^th 2025)- Saint Lucia hoteliers and tourism service providers gathered at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort & Spa on Thursday February 6, 2025 for the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association’s (SLHTA) industry update conference.

The event brought together representatives from the SLHTA’s member companies, the Ministry of Tourism and the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA) for key discussions on industry issues, including certification, incentives, marketing and investments.

SLHTA President Erwin Louisy

SLHTA President Erwin Louisy underscored the importance of the gathering. “The SLHTA remains steadfast in its partnership with the SLTA, and together, we will focus on improving this year’s performance over last year’s. This means not only addressing immediate concerns like airlift and marketing but also exploring innovative ways to enhance the guest experience, increase visitor spending, and ensure that the benefits of tourism are felt across all sectors of our economy.”

She continued: “Let us use today’s gathering as a springboard for action. Together, we have the power to shape the future of tourism in Saint Lucia, and I am confident that with unity and determination, we will achieve even greater success in the year to come.”

CEO of the SLTA, Louis Lewis, presented on the destination’s recent performance, and upcoming plans. He stressed the importance of public and private sector collaboration in achieving continued growth.

“Basically, what we outlined was that we had in terms of stayover arrivals a 14% increase; we had an 18% increase in cruise arrivals; and a 7% increase in yachting passengers. But more importantly the performance was strong, it [the presentation] really focused on the reasons why we were so successful which was really the culmination of marketing efforts, some of the events, strategic airlift negotiations. The road ahead is where the challenges lie. 2019 was our benchmark year in previous years but because we’ve had such a strong performance in 2024, that becomes our new ground zero. How do we better that? And two strong words that came out of this morning’s discussions were that we need to collaborate and strive for excellence in service delivery.”

Attendees welcomed the insightful conference, recognizing it as a valuable platform for staying informed on industry developments and opportunities.

Lorna Francis, General Manager of Hotel Chocolat, highlighted the importance of the insights gained.

“It was really interesting, really great to get that sort of insight and assist the industry with understanding what’s going on, on the island. The information was in plain English so it was very easy to understand exactly what they were trying to portray and get us across to us. Sao it was very useful.”

Ulric Augustin of Fun Rhum Foods also expressed satisfaction with the conference, noting that the information shared would aid in business planning.

“Fantastic presentation! It’s a breath of fresh air to see that we’re on top of the numbers and tourism looks very encouraging for the future in Saint Lucia. I learnt a lot of stuff today that sort of helped me understand either the growth in the business or the decline in the business. And to be able to ask questions and get answers helps you strategize your business plans and forward-thinking a little better.

The SLHTA remains committed to facilitating these important conversations and driving positive change within the tourism industry.