Dominic Fedee has a simple message about his island: “Saint Lucia is booming.” The tourism minister was talking about not only a 7.1% jump in tourism arrivals in 2019 (including a record 40,000-plus Canadians), but a frenzy of development that will include both new hotels and major infrastructure improvements.
Fedee points to improved roads and water supply, and “new beaches being opened all the time.” And it is a government priority to expand tourism to new areas of the island, he adds, particularly the south, the highlight of which will be a new cruise port that already has agreements in place with Carnival and RCI, and which will “be good for not only Saint Lucia, but opens up the southern Caribbean.”
Also in the pipeline is a new terminal for the airport, international hospitality school, horse racing course – “best in the Caribbean” – and a second golf course for the island. Plus the government is investing in “village tourism” to help towns become more tourism friendly and venues (such as rum shops) meet international standards – all in the name of improving tourism product and helping diffuse the flow of tourists away from current hotspots to prevent overcrowding as tourism continues to grow.
Funding for many of the projects will come from a new tourism tax set to take effect on April 1: visitors will pay US$3 or $6/night (based on the nightly hotel rate threshold of $120), while Airbnb and VRBO guests will have to pay 7%.
On the hotel scene, there are close to 2,500 rooms expected to come into the market in the next decade, including a new Hyatt and Fairmont, and in the shorter term, two new AMResorts properties (a Dreams and Zoetry), which will be part of the new luxury resort and residential community Canelles Resort and Residences at Honeymoon Beach, which has broken ground is and scheduled to open in 2021.
Meanwhile this year’s signature island event, the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival (May 7-9), is going “back to basics” and will be a strictly jazz event, after having morphed into a general music festival in previous years, says Fedee.
The Festival recently announced that it has added Patti LaBelle as a featured performer, her first in over a decade. The “Lady Marmalade” singer will perform an “intimate” concert at The Ramp on Rodney Bay on May 8 and 9.
For those who don’t like jazz, not to worry, the island is still a hotbed of Soca, Fedee points out, and a Roots & Soul event is TBA. Carnival will take place July 15-22.
Meanwhile, more than 22 hotels, resorts and villas on the island are offering value-driven “Love is in the Air” specials for March and April travel for visitors. And, as an added bonus, qualified visitors can register to receive a Saint Lucia Exploration gift bag that includes US$60 worth of complimentary gifts.
The dedicated “Love is in the Air” web page at stlucia.org/love2020 lists deals at participating hotels, including up to 65 percent off accommodations, free nights, couples massages, chocolate and rum tastings, romantic picnics and candlelit dinners, bottles of wine and champagne, truffles and other special in-room treats, complimentary or discounted activities such as golf, private chauffeured island tours and catamaran cruises, VIP airport transfers, hotel credits and more.
