What is the Tourism Enhancement Fund

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), established on 1st October 2013, is a voluntary fund set up by the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association Inc. 

The TEF was proposed by the SLHTA Secretariat as a means of allowing the members of the SLHTA greater control of its own pool of financial resources to allow the SLHTA to play an integral part in the sustainable development of our destination and make greater contributions towards community development initiatives in rural areas and support efforts to preserve our environment and expose other stakeholders to environmentally sustainable tourism practices. 

The TEF also focuses on education and hands-on training initiatives for our young people to give them a better chance of finding employment in our industry. It also spearheads programs for the workforce to achieve higher standards to be able to strengthen our island’s presence in an ever more competitive international tourism marketplace.
TEF Engages Project Consutant

The Board of Trustees of the Tourism Enhancement Fund is pleased to announce the engagement of Mr. Noorani M. Azeez as the Project Consultant to the TEF effective 5 th June 2018 – 4 th September 2018. During this period the Consultant will conduct an aggressive engagement of Fund contributors to ascertain priority areas to which funding should be targeted over the coming years. Since its conception in 2013, the Tourism Enhancement Fund has allocated millions of dollars towards human resources development, community enhancement and bridging linkages between tourism and the agricultural sector. As the Fund seeks to formalize its presence and expand its network of collaboration with international partners, it has become critical that key thematic areas for support be identified. If you have any ideas of projects which you would like to see funded please email us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.saintluciatef.com 
Eat them to Beat Them!!!!!

Over 20 Senior Chefs, Butchers, Purchasing Managers and Distributors from SLHTA member companies received hands on training this week on the safe handling of Lionfish and its preparation. Lionfish is an invasive species in Saint Lucia and the population has exploded in recent years. The Lionfish is a voracious predator of juvenile fishes and poses a serious threat to the future of our coral reefs and the livelihoods of many fishing villages and families.

The tourism industry continues to play its part in helping to promote incorporation of Lionfish on local menus. For international visitors, Lionfish is a delicacy and fast becoming a part of the unique experience of our island. Encouraging consumption of Lionfish will not only help coral reefs to recover, but also support the livelihoods of local fishers.

The Tourism Enhancement Fund financed the training workshop which was hosted by the SLHTA in collaboration with The Travel Foundation, Clear Caribbean, the Department of Fisheries and Royalton St. Lucia Resort and Spa on Thursday, 14th June, 2018. 
Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School Emerges CISCO Champions for yet Another Year.

After months of preparation, six secondary schools from across the island battled it out on Friday 15 th June 2018 for the Chefs in Schools Culinary Competition Championship. The competition was hosted at the Ciceron Secondary School, and was judged by Chef Orlando Satchell, Chef Refer Leonce, Chef Nicodemus Joseph, Chef Peter Lawrence and Chef Niguel Gerald. The schools participating in this year’s competition were:
  1. Ciceron Secondary School
  2. Castries Comprehensive Secondary School
  3. Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School
  4. Entrepot Secondary School
  5. Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School
  6. Micoud Secondary School

The Tourism Enhancement Fund expresses profound gratitude to the following Chefs and their Hotels for training the students for this year's competition:
  1. Chef Clayton Julian & Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa
  2. Chef Mario Martial & Royalton Resort Saint Lucia
  3. Chef Michael Grey & Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa
  4. Chef Frank Faucher & Anse Chastanet Hotel
  5. Chef Edna Butcher & Cap Maison
  6. Chef Shervin Eleuthere & Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort
Major Sponsors included the SLHTA’s Tourism Enhancement Fund, CPJ Saint Lucia Ltd, RJB Hotel Supplies, Courts St. Lucia Ltd and Bank of Saint Lucia.

After two rounds of an exciting and heated cook off, Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School emerged victorious for yet another year. The team was assigned to Chef Frank Faucher of Anse Chastanet Hotel in Soufriere, who was responsible for training the students over a three week period before the competition. This is the 3 rd year the school has emerged winners of the Chefs in Schools Cook Off (CISCO) Competition, including CISCO 2014, 2015 and now this years’ CISCO 2018.

Through the TEF’s Apprenticeship programme, the students will continue training at Anse Chastanet Hotel over the summer to prepare for the regional competition in Barbados on August 13 th – 20 th 2018.

The Tourism Enhancement Fund Staff and Board of Trustees would like to Congratulate Team Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School on their victory, and all the best for the Caribbean Junior Culinary Conference in Barbados in August.
Tourism Linkages – Key to our economic growth

The SLHTA’s internally acclaimed Virtual Agricultural Clearing House is poised for major growth over the coming months. The VACH, which has successfully functioned as an electronic clearing house for locally grown produce, connecting hotels, restaurants and local farmers, will be exploring the application of its best practices to building linkages between Tourism and other sectors. Key sectors targeted for this pilot program include Arts and Craft, Agro Processing and Manufacturing. 

The official launch of this program will take place at SLHTA’s Annual General Meeting and Linkages Tradeshow in July 2018. For more information on this please contact Ms. Donette Ismael at [email protected] or 758-485-9816.