St. Lucia’s is tourism has been described as soaring as the island hits record numbers for 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire says the island is celebrating its tourism performance as travel resumes following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that forced the closure of the borders of the island and other Caribbean destinations.
Hilaire said the island is reporting record numbers, in the absence of pre-pandemic levels of regional travel.
“I have one thing to say about our international tourism presently. It’s a simple description: St. Lucia is soaring,” said Hilaire, who is also the minister of tourism.
He told the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) “Destination Media Briefing,” that so far this year, St. Lucia has seen record-breaking visitor arrivals, the return of events, and a substantial number of tourism developments.
He said in July, St. Lucia recorded its most outstanding post-pandemic performance with the highest arrivals ever from the United States.
“We surpassed 2019 levels for five out of the seven months from January through to July, with our final August figures expected to be similarly strong.
“The UK was eager to return to St. Lucia. The UK arrivals surpassed 2019 levels in March and April and were shy of July 2019 arrivals by just two percent. These arrival figures are significant because they illustrate that tourism in St. Lucia is not pulling back. It is indeed soaring.”
The minister said airlift to the destination has been “exceptional, reflecting the airline’s confidence in the recovery of our island.
“This summer, St. Lucia has 58 percent more seats than in 2021 and it’s nearly back to our 2019 levels, just 13 percent because I’m shy of the seats of 2019.”
Hilaire noted this is the case despite the fact that LIAT, which was the main regional carrier, no longer services most of its former destinations, including St. Lucia.
The minister said St. Lucia continued to work closely with airlines to increase the frequency of flights from its key feeder markets and also to introduce airlift from new cities.
CMC/
