SLHTA Executive Vice President Officially Takes Up Office this Week

 

Mr. Noorani Azeez officially took up office this week as the Executive Vice President of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association. Among his first set of engagements, Mr. Azeez has followed up on ongoing discussions with the National Conservation Authority regarding beach security and support for small and micro entrepreneurs seeking to ply their trade on our beaches. Other tasks included review of the work program for the Secretariat for the coming year, meetings with allied member sector representatives such as tourism transportation providers, day boat operators and destination management companies. This week’s engagements also included in-house discussions on the status of projects currently underway. 

SLHTA President attends another meeting of the Tourism Advisory Committee

 

On Thursday 20 ^th  September 2018, SLHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy represented the SLHTA at a meeting of the Tourism Advisory Committee. Among the agenda items committee members discussed were the TAC’s Vision, SWOT, Strategic Framework Overview, Development Pillars and Work Outline and Resources and Budget related to the Institutional Framework. 

 

The committee is a multi-stakeholder advisory grouping comprising both public and private representatives with an interest in bolstering tourism development and management. The TAC will facilitate partnerships among the public and private sectors, and seek to resolve longstanding bottlenecks which impede product development and enhancement, while generating consensus on the way forward for the development and management of the tourism sector in Saint Lucia. 

SLHTA Champions Cup 2018:

SEMI FINALS RESULT

The SLHTA Champions Cup lit up the Marchand Playing Field on Sunday 16 ^th September 2018. The anticipated games brought the heat that the instigative audience craved. The first game began at 6:00 pm and the second game began at 8:00 pm. These matches were the prime gateway for the (4) four teams competing to settle a spot in the Finals.

Caribbean Dispatch Services Limited (CDSL) and Sandals La Toc challenged each other in the first game. Both teams played with the unapologetic intention to win. So much so that it seemed that they threw caution to the wind. In the end, CDSL prevailed with two goals winning the match while Sandals La Toc scored only one goal.

The second game of the evening brought defending champions Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa up against Royalton Saint Lucia Resort. The game seemed like a stiff tug of war as the demeanor of both teams was clearly expressed in each kick, tussle and tackle. The cheers from the audience titled this match as Match-of-the-Evening as each team’s supporters defended their teams with playful chants from the stands and sidelines.

 Coconut Bay scored three goals against Royalton who stood at nil by the end of the first half. Royalton made a comeback in the second half by scoring two goals. However this was not enough because at the end of the match the scores were the same leaving Coconut Bay as the winner.

The teams going to the Finals are:

Visit the Tournament’s Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/slhtafootball/

SLHTA Welcomes More New Members

SLHTA welcomes seven (7) additional members to its family. Two of these new members are joining the Allied Membership Category and the other five (5) are joining the Individual Membership Category.

New Allied Members:

·         Tri~Finity Associates

·        Captain Ron Tours and Entertainment Activities Inc.

 

Tri~Finity Associates: Tri~Finity Associates is a small accounting Firm which provides accounting, audit, tax, and management consultancy services to small and medium-sized entities, individuals and partnerships. This one-stop-shop Accounting Firm also provides business plans and loan application services for business entities.

Additionally, Tri~Finity’s expertise also covers incorporation of companies, registration of businesses and preparation of Fiscal Incentives’ applications from the Government of St. Lucia on behalf of business entities.

Tri~Finity Associates has been in operation from 2002 and is located in Rodney Bay, Gros- Islet... READ MORE

Captain Ron Tours and Entertainment Activities Inc: This is a Tour Company that offers boat transportation and charter services to neighbouring Caribbean islands such as Martinique, Dominica and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Currently, Martinique is the main travel destination; visitors and locals have the opportunity, twice a month, to travel to Fort de France. Trips to Dominica for the Dominica Creole Music Festival and to Saint Vincent for Vincy Mas Carnival are done annually.

Visitors and locals are welcome to call Captain Ron for private charter requests to the aforementioned destinations... www.facebook.com/captainrontours/

SLHTA to Attend Caribbean Tourism Organization Conference

The SLHTA will be represented next month at the Climate Smart and Sustainable Caribbean Tourism Industry Project Closeout Conference. As the culmination of the CSSCTI Project, the CTO will host a workshop for training and sensitization of regional tourism stakeholders on project deliverables, which include an updated Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework and a Disaster Risk Management Manual for the Tourism sector. The two-day workshop which will commence on 1 ^st  October, will feature interactive engagements and presentations by thematic experts and consultants who will share knowledge, best practices and provide practical training aimed at capacity enhancement in climate smart sustainable tourism topics.

Official Celebration of World Tourism Day 2018

Tourism & The Digital Transformation  

The importance of digital technologies in tourism, providing opportunities for innovation and preparing the sector for the future of work, is at the centre of World Tourism Day 2018, to be celebrated in Budapest, Hungary (27 September 2018).

World Tourism Day, celebrated every 27 September around the world, is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on tourism’s actual and potential contribution to sustainable development.

This year’s World Tourism Day (WTD) will help to put the opportunities provided to tourism, by technological advances including big data, artificial intelligence and digital platforms, on the map of sustainable development. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) sees digital advances and innovation as part of the solution to the challenge of marrying continued growth with a more sustainable and responsible tourism sector... http://media.unwto.org/event/tourism-and-digital-transformation

TripAdvisor Hall of Fame for Royal Again!

The Royal St. Lucia Resort and Spa has made the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame for the second time in 10 years. This unique accolade is granted to hotels which have won the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence five years in a row. The Royal was awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excelllence for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, joining a prestigious list of properties worldwide. This is The Royal’s second induction into the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame, having been awarded the Certificate of Excelllence for the 5-year period 2011 – 2015... READ MORE

Saint Lucia UK Showcase 25th Awards Gala

The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority’s Eighth Annual UK Showcase culminated in the 25 ^th Gala Awards dinner at the De Vere Wotton House in Surrey, hosted by TV presenter and Saint Lucian Brit, Angelica Bell. Originally, the Awards were held annually in March to recognize industry partners who have worked well with, and contributed to Saint Lucia’s tourism product. However, the SLTA has incorporated the Gala Awards Dinner into its UK Showcase which is now into its 8 ^th year. The UK Showcase is a week of activities that focuses, solely, on the destination where the Authority brings together its partners and Saint Lucian tourism-related companies to take a closer look at their practices and achievements and award based on excellence.

At this year’s Gala Awards, Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resorts received the Award for Best Hotel Partnership in 2017.

Armin Asceric, Sugar Beach’s Associate Director of Sales, Marketing and Public Relations expressed ‘‘it is very important to strengthen relationships with SLHTA and the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA). We are very grateful for this wonderful award’’.  Armin also explained that the award encourages the Viceroy Hotels and Resorts Group to work closer in the future and align their marketing strategies even closer...   www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/sugarbeach  

Another SLHTA member, British Airways was given the Special Recognition Award for Contribution to Destination.

Saint Lucia Is Giving Visitors a Holiday Guarantee.

An Article by Caribbean Journal.

Worried about a storm affecting your Caribbean getaway?

Another island has you covered.

The island of Saint Lucia is inviting guests to enjoy a stress-free vacation with its new special holiday guarantee. The holiday guarantee program covers cancellations made prior to arrival and if the vacation is cut short because of a hurricane.

“Given the impact of the 2017 hurricane season on the region, it is utterly important that this guarantee remains in effect to assure visitors that Saint Lucia takes pride in its tourism product,” said Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Tiffany Howard. “While Saint Lucia is rarely affected by hurricanes, this guarantee provides another security blanket to our visitors... www.caribjournal.com/2018/09/19/saint-lucia-is-giving-visitors-a-holiday-guarantee/ 

Sandals Resorts International Wins BIG at Top Travel Awards

It is viewed by many as the Emmys of the Travel Industry, and this week Sandals Resorts International swept the Travel Trade Gazette Awards 2018 held at the Lyceum Theatre in London’s Covent Garden. 

Sandals held off competition from the world’s leading travel industry bodies such as Thomas Cook, Jet2Holidays, Royal Caribbean International, Beachcomber Tours and Celebrity Cruises, and walked away with the three top prizes on offer including the coveted Travel Company of the Year Award. 

Sandals Resorts also scooped awards for ‘Hotel and Resort Operator of the Year’ and ‘On the Road Hero’, which was awarded to Business Development Manager, Neil Read for his outstanding contribution to the Sandals Resorts’... READ MORE