Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire, at a pre-Cabinet presser on Monday, called for a more inclusive approach to tourism development in Saint Lucia, emphasizing that the wealth generated by the industry should directly benefit everyday Saint Lucians. His remarks come amid fresh data showing that visitor expenditure in 2023 reached an impressive EC $3.5 billion.
“When you’ve done the calculations, the total value of visitor arrivals, in terms of visitor expenditure, is 3.5 billion EC dollars,” Dr. Hilaire revealed. “One of the challenges for us as a society is: how do we get more of that money to actually be spent in Saint Lucia?”
The minister explained that the figure is based on visitor accommodation, length of stay, and average daily spending. While this record-breaking income signals strong performance in the tourism sector, he stressed the need for better mechanisms to ensure those earnings remain in the hands of Saint Lucians.
“The government has resolved to continue the push to ensure that we get more of the money actually spent in Saint Lucia—and that it goes into the pockets of Saint Lucians,” he stated.
Dr. Hilaire’s comments come on the heels of the successful hosting of the 2025 GIMIES Awards, the tourism sector’s premier recognition event. He used the opportunity to thank all stakeholders involved, including the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association, for their role in organizing the fourth edition of the awards.
“The GIMIES was created for us, as the industry partners, to recognize the excellence of our hospitalitarians—the persons who really go out of their way to ensure that we deliver,” he said.
Dr. Hilaire noted that Saint Lucia’s tourism successes are largely the result of the passion and dedication of its people. “We’ve seen from the numbers Saint Lucia had last year—which was a record-breaking year—that Saint Lucians, our people, are the cornerstone of that success.”
As the country looks ahead, the Ministry of Tourism says it will focus on policies and initiatives that keep more tourism dollars circulating within local communities—supporting small businesses, creating jobs, and sustaining livelihoods.
With continued efforts to prioritize people-focused tourism, Saint Lucia is working not only to attract visitors but to ensure the economic impact of their presence is felt by those who need it most.
