St Lucia tourism team visit Toronto to bring great summer news for tourists

By Stephen Weir

Lorine Charles St Jules

After a two-year Covid shutdown, Canadians are being urged to discover and rediscover the small mountainous Caribbean island. A revitalized hospitality industry. New tourism programs. Direct flights from Toronto. Travel agencies are getting ready to once again book vacations back to the bilingual nation.

Last week a St Lucia travel delegation flew up to this city to meet with Toronto’s top travel agencies and the country’s travel media to give a complete briefing on the “post Covid” St Lucia.  Held on the top floor of the posh Exhibition Place Hotel X, this team of tourism officials, and hotel property reps, spent two hours giving our travel aficionados, the 2022 skivvy on “Helen of the West Indies” (her nickname references Helen of Troy).

It was supposed to be a happy gathering of likeminded professionals, but it surprisingly started on a down note when Lorine Charles St Jules, the CEO of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority opened the event by complaining about Canada’s travel policies.

Her issue? Visas are required for St Lucians to come into Canada, and securing visas has become an often lengthy process.

“We have had a little bit of challenge between St Lucia and Canada for about three or four years. I want to go a little bit personal now because it has affected us personally. “This trip has been in the works for 4 months,” explained Mrs Lorine Charles St Jules, “so about two weeks ago we had ticketed an entourage to come to meet you. Why? Because we picked up this event from New York and off to Toronto and then onto to Miami and Dallas.  So we meant to bring lots and lots of people to be with us tonight but (but some members of the party weren’t able to get their Canadian visas in time.”

While visas are required for St Lucians to enter Canada, the same is not the case of Canadians travelling to their country. A St Lucia tourist visa is not required for citizens of Canada for a stay up to 42 days.

Six tourism officials made the trip. Their numbers were augmented by five Canadian based reps of the top St Lucian hotels including:  Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet, Bay Gardens Resorts & Calabash Cove, Blue Diamond Resorts  Coconut Bay / Serenity, Sandals Resorts  And the  Landings Resort.

The Canadians in the room gave a round of applause when she called for changes to be made and the steel drum began to play. She told the audience that tourism is the mainstay of the island’s economy and that travel by Canadians accounts for about 6 percent of their business. They want to grow that number this year – hence the trade mission.

“The purpose of the event was a reintroduction to the Canadian market after two years of no events and airlift due to the pandemic,” explained Andrew Ricketts, the island’s Toronto based public relations expert. “The 2022 Saint Lucia North American Roadshow targets four key cities with direct flights to Saint Lucia – New York, Toronto, Dallas and Miami.”

Right now WestJet is flying once a week between Toronto and Saint Lucia and will be adding more flights in the Fall. So too will Air Canada and Sunwing will be resuming flights to the island in this autumn.

So what did the delegation have to say for itself. A lot really.

“Tourism is Saint Lucia’s main economic driver, making this sector extremely important to our economy. With visitor arrivals surpassing optimistic projections, the demand for the destination is overwhelmingly positive. International accommodations brands are reaffirming confidence in Saint Lucia with several undertaking constructive and renovative projects scheduled for completion soon,” remarked Chief Executive Officer of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Lorine Charles St. Jules.

Having launched the Summer Saint Lucia Style campaign, the destination is gearing up for an exciting season offering deals of up to 60 percent off on holidays throughout the summer months.

Hotels and resorts across the island are offering discounts for couples, families, and groups looking for a tropical summer getaway. Summer in Saint Lucia means golden beaches, honeymoon havens, and diverse attractions. The tranquil, lush south is home to the signature Piton mountains, rainforest, and one of the world’s few drive-in volcanoes. In the north, step beyond the sandy beaches and you’ll find popular resorts, restaurants, and bars, and the Splash Island Water Park, the Caribbean’s first open-water sports park.

Carnival travel fans take note. Saint Lucia Carnival is back this July. It starts on the 7th with Soca, Calypso and Steel Pan concerts and street parties galore, the Parade of the Bands closes the festival on July 18th and 19th. Can’t make it? No problem, the island is one of the few Caribbean countries to have a Tik Tok channel and it will be Carnival-centric all July.

True Confessions from Stephen Weir: Just before the pandemic I visited the island to take underwater pictures of a Canadian couple’s underwater wedding for the Caribbean Camera and Diver Magazine.  I attended last week’s briefing at Hotel X and captured one of six destination door prizes. I won four nights for two at the high-end Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet resorts, I will have to make my own flight arrangements on my dime.