TOURISM MATTERS
We are celebrating the Saint Lucian master sculptor, Vincent Joseph Eudovic during the Icon Series for October, Creole Heritage Month. Some of his mind-blowing pieces will be on display on Tuesday 8 th October to Saturday 12 th October
UP TO 70 PERCENT OFF HOLIDAY PACKAGES FROM THE UK.
This winter, UK holiday makers can take advantage of a new month-long promotion from the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA).
Running until the end of October, sun seekers can book a holiday in Saint Lucia and enjoy some winter sun or book ahead for their summer holiday, saving up to 70%. There are 12 tour operators taking part: Blue Bay Travel; Simply St Lucia; Trail finders; Best At Travel; Classic Collection; Tropical Sky; Sackville Travel; Dial-a-Flight; ITC, Kenwood Travel; Caribtours and LetsGo2. This means that there is a range of holidays on offer to suit all budgets and tastes.
SLTA UK Director, Patricia Charlery-Leon said “Every year we are able to offer fantastic savings at this time of year through our tour operator partners. Saint Lucia is perfect for a relaxing or active holiday so suits all tastes from families to honeymooners.”
The deals are supported by an extended consumer and trade advertising campaign from SLTA with press ads in The Times, Telegraph, Metro and Evening Standard alongside digital takeovers in The Times and Telegraph. Lifestyle magazines are also part of the buy with the increasingly important niche media including wedding, diving, birding, yachting and Diaspora media.  Other activation includes outdoor billboards, radio and digital ads, consumer e-newsletters and social media postings.
ST. LUCIA'S JADE MOUNTAIN CAPTURES TRAVEL WEEKLY MAGELLAN AWARD
ST. LUCIA (2 nd October 2019) - St. Lucia's world-class resort, Jade Mountain, has collected another international honor, scoring Gold in the Hospitality category's "Overall-Luxury Hotel/Resort" of the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. 
 
The Magellan Awards, which recognize outstanding candidates from design to marketing to services, honor the best in travel and salute the outstanding travel professionals behind it all. 
 
All honorees were featured in a special issue of the influential Travel Weekly magazine in September in a section dedicated to this year's winners. 
 
Jade Mountain submitted a 44-second video clip put together by the resort's Executive Director of Marketing and Operations, Karolin Troubetzkoy, in collaboration with social media influencers Jeremy Austin and Angie Villa.

Troubetzkoy was delighted with the reception of the video by the awards committee: "It is one of our most engaging pieces of content, gathering more than 500,000 views in various lengths over multiple platforms through our social media and wider digital marketing efforts."
 
The video showcases the allure of the luxury resort, which she contended, "breaks away from the mold."  
 
Jade Mountain is an architectural masterpiece set on 600 acres of lush greenery that features awe-inspiring vistas and unique guest experiences. "This video captures what it feels like to escape to a magical resort in one of the most alluring destinations in the world - St. Lucia," Troubetzkoy stated.
 
Obviously the panel of judges agreed with her.
 
About Jade Mountain
Rising majestically above the 600-acre beachfront resort of Anse Chastanet, Jade Mountain Resort on St. Lucia's south-western Caribbean coastline is a cornucopia of organic architecture celebrating the island's stunning scenic beauty. Architect owner Nick Troubetzkoy has expanded upon his philosophy of building in harmony with Caribbean nature in his creation of Jade Mountain. The bold architectural design - individual bridges leading to exceptional infinity pool sanctuaries and rugged stoned-faced columns reaching towards the sky - makes Jade Mountain one of the Caribbean's most mesmerizing resort experiences.
 
For more information, visit  www.jademountain.com .
 
The Saint Lucia Hospitality & Tourism Association
presents its
Annual Christmas Raffle
Enter to win the following prizes:
For more information, contact SLHTA Office at 452 5978.
Tickets are now on sale at EC$10
The push for post-Dorian employment opportunities
Getting people back who fled Grand Bahama and the Abacos after Hurricane Dorian to work is a monumental challenge.

Hats off to the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) which, in tandem with public and private sector tourism partners in the region and South Florida, launched "Tourism Jobs for Bahamians" to secure temporary employment for workers displaced by Hurricane Dorian.
The storm blew more than 2,500 hospitality professionals out of work on Grand Bahama and the Abacos, eliminating jobs that were supporting more than 10,000 family members in these islands, according to the CHTA.
"The strong Bahamas tourism sector has created a wealth of skilled and dedicated tourism professionals who would be an asset to any hotel or tourism business," said Patricia Affonso-Dass, president of the CHTA and the manager of Ocean Hotels in Barbados.
"Even short-term, seasonal positions would allow these Bahamian professionals not only to enhance other destinations but also to expand their own skills and experience," she said. To identify available temporary positions, the CHTA deployed its Caribbean Tourism Job Bank , which was originally set up in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

"This is a targeted effort for impacted Bahamians that will continue at least through the next five months," said Frank Comito, the CHTA's director general and CEO. Read More
Linkages in Tourism Tradeshow - Business Profiles
Superior Broom Producers
"Superior Broom Producers" was officially formed in June 2005. The local business consists of a small group of farmers, comprising men and women, with women as the leaders. The Superior Broom Producers are located in La Pointe, Mon Repos Micoud where they sell their produce including added-value goods such as brooms on the local market.

La Cantina Wines
"La Cantina Wines" was born in 1992 because its owners perceived a need to provide a reliable supply of good quality Italian Wines. We were the first to introduce Prosecco and since then, La Cantina has expanded and currently imports wines of the highest quality directly from various small vineyards around the world.  

Funky Fungi
"Funky Fungi Mushrooms" was founded in 2011 by Alexis and Shonell William. To this day, the mushroom farm is in operation and is located in Fond Assau, Babonneau where all different kinds of oyster mushrooms are produced. We produce a variety of mushrooms examples include: oyster phoenix, yellow and pink peal mushrooms. 




If it isn't fresh, it isn't sweet because at Funky Fungi; it is always fresh and always sweet”.  Read More
Rural Women Producers
The St. Lucia Network of Rural Women Producers (SLNRWP) is a non-profit organization that was formed on 27 th August 2008 and became registered with the Ministry of Social Transformation on 16 th April 2014.
To this day, SLNRWP is still active and comprises of four groups mainly women in farming; also agro-processing, craft making and soap making. 


Découvè Sent Lisi, Découvè Kò’w - Creole Heritage Month of Activities 2019.
World Food Day is celebrated each year on 16 th October to promote worldwide awareness and for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all. This year, an event will be celebrated on Sunday 13 th October 2019 at the Vigie Playing Field in Saint Lucia.
This year’s World Food Day (WFD) calls for action to get back on track. Your agri-business or private enterprise can play a role!

The women and men who work in agriculture play a vital role in providing nutritious, affordable food. Whether they work on small family farms or in small food enterprises, their decisions will help shape the future of food and nutrition. Their knowledge and traditional practices are vital in a world where food production faces many challenges such as climate change and limited natural resources. These actions are a starting point for farmers and agribusinesses who want to make healthy diets available and build a #ZeroHunger world.



  • QUALITY, NOT JUST QUANTITY
Farmers need to consider a reorientation of agricultural priorities and move from an emphasis on producing high yields towards producing a diversity of nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts in an effort to meet the population’s dietary requirements.

  • TAKE A NUTRITION-SENSITIVE APPROACH
With a growing population expected to reach 9 billion in 2050, farmers need to find new, more productive ways to diversify crops and farm food. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture aims to make more diverse and nutritious food available and affordable.
It also aims to make food more nutritious by enhancing micro nutrient content in foods through plant breeding and improved soil nutrient content and promotes sustainable production practices like conservation agriculture, water management and integrated pest management. Read More .


WHAT PRIVATE BUSINESSES CAN DO TO MAKE HEALTHY DIETS AVAILABLE AND AFFORDABLE AND ACHIEVE #ZEROHUNGER


  • CHAMPION FOOD SAFETY
Food businesses and manufacturers must strive to achieve better food safety and quality along the food chains. The risks of innovative technologies and industrialized systems to human and environmental health must be assessed and taken into consideration, for example, any negative health consequences such as antimicrobial resistance stemming from a dependency on an excessive use of chemical inputs that are used to ensure high productivity or prevent disease.

  • MAKE NUTRITIOUS FOODS AVAILABLE
Food companies and manufacturers need to develop and provide affordable and nutritious foods to consumers and aim to provide greater dietary diversity and quality. Nutrition needs to be prioritized along the food chain by limiting the levels of saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars and salt in existing food products, as well as developing new products with better nutritional value that respond to public health concerns. Read More .
A Weekly Update from the SLHTA
The SLHTA held a very important and successful Board meeting welcoming the newly appointed directors. The meeting which was very well attended focused on a myriad of issues confronting the sector, the trajectory for the SLHTA over the coming months and its pivotal role in the formulation of solutions to a number of burning issues. Also discussed were the protocols of engagement within the various subsectors and the Secretariat in building a more resilient organizational body.
Coming off the heels of that meeting, SLHTA CEO, Noorani Azeez and Director for Ground Transportation & Cruise Sub-sectors and Tour Service, Corey Devaux met to discuss the challenges faced by the Day Boat Operators (DBO). Emphasis was placed on the need for SLHTA’s intervention on behalf of the DBO’s, as they endure increased cost of operations from various unregulated fees.
Other issues included harassment of guests which continues to be a pressing matter for the operators, as some licensed and unlicensed operators show disregard for the importance of customer service and etiquettes of engagement.
Other engagement this week focused on mounting sectoral meetings with Restaurants and Food and Beverage Suppliers, Business Professionals, Small and Micro Enterprises. SLHTA President, Karolin Troubetzkoy attended Saint Lucia Tourism Authority marketing committee meeting. The meeting was welcomed by the Association as it contends to find solutions to rise above the events of the past few weeks related to the Thomas Cook fallout and the imminent loss of seats from Virgin Airlines next year. A range of matters were discussed including a marketing meeting in early December with the Tourism industry. Members are urged to look forward to quarterly marketing meetings to engage SLHTA members and an overarching campaign strategy for 2020.
As the week winds down the SLHTA focused its attention on compelling matters affecting Saint Lucia’s social landscape with its participation in a Basic Life and Employment Skills (BLES) Workforce Development Stakeholder Workshop hosted under the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) program. The CFYR programme, funded by the USAID, supports vulnerable youth ages 10 - 29 from Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and Guyana.
The programme is a component of USAID’s umbrella Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Project that reduces youth involvement in crime and violence as part of a larger goal of creating a safer more prosperous Caribbean. The focal point of the workshop was an evidence-based approach to building youth resilience, strengthen families and empower communities.
The workshop which was well attended by various stakeholders sparked great discussion and much intrigue as the facilitators expounded on the success of youth interventions.
The SLHTA is the principal tourism private sector agency in Saint Lucia. Its mandate is to facilitate tourism sector development and management on the island. A private non-profit membership organization by nature, it functions as the official organization and national spokesperson for the hospitality industry and its wide and growing membership.
Current membership in the organizations stands at 259 members, inclusive of 22 new corporate members and 55 new independent employee members who successfully applied for membership consideration during the course of the past financial year.

As published in the STAR Newspaper
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with warmth and happiness of the season!