The Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture is celebrating Tourism Month 2016 from 1st - 31st November under the slogan: “Tourism is Everyone’s Business, Live it, Love it, Embrace it”.
Tourism Month is an opportunity to raise the level of tourism awareness among our students, stakeholders and general population. It is meant to encourage Vincentians to appreciate just how important the industry is to the sustainable development of our islands and to familiarise themselves with the local tourism product and the diversity of our 32 islands.
The month’s theme is key, as it focuses on how each facet of our society can play a vital role in the development of our tourism industry.
The month of activities began with a Thanksgiving Service on Tuesday 1st November at Peace Memorial Hall, where Reverend Adolph Davis gave an enlightening message on the topic "Developing a God-based Philosophy of Tourism".The service was well attended by key agencies and stakeholders within the industry.
Hon. Cecil Mckie, Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture, also Minister with responsibility for the National Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority (NPRBA), conducted two days (2) of visits on 31st October and 1st November to eight (8) tourism sites managed by NPRBA.
Sites visited included:
- Botanic Gardens
- Vermont Nature trail
- Layou Petroglyph Parks
- Cumberland Beach Recreation Park
- Indian Bay Beach Facility
- Rawacou Recreation Park
- Black Point Heritage Park
- Owia Salt Pond Park
The visits which were organised immediately ahead of the 2016/2017 visitor season enabled the Minister to have a first-hand view of several tourism sites, to assess current site conditions and to interact with site workers as part of preparations for the upcoming visitor season. The Minister was accompanied on the visits by staff from NPRBA and the Tourism Authority, as well as the Chairman of NPRBA.
In 2015 just over 46,000 visits were recorded by foreign visitors to the twelve (12) tourism sites managed by NPRBA on St. Vincent.
The tourism sites play a very important role in the country’s tourism product and are highly utilised by cruise visitors. The first scheduled cruise call to the destination occurred on October 26th 2016 to Mayreau, with the first cruise ship call expected on 11th November to Kingstown - an inaugural call to St Vincent and the Grenadines by the Britannia.
In addition, the following are highlights of activities scheduled to take place throughout Tourism Month:
- Heritage Village Exhibition (St. Vincent and the Grenadines Port Authority Lawn): 11th November (inaugural cruise call by the Britannia).
- Tourist Dress Day: 18th November
To round off the month’s activities the SVG Tourism Authority, in collaboration with the Ministry, will host the Annual Tourism Awards on 26th November. The awards event is organised as part of our efforts to recognise and reward outstanding contributions of stakeholders and partners in the tourism and hospitality industry in St. Vincent and the Grenadines tourism product.
Additional note:
The Grenadines have been nominated for the 20 most beautiful places in the world to sail. Included are hot weather cruising destinations as well as cold sailing destinations. The public is urged to vote for via http://sailuniverse.com/2016/10/the-20-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world-to-sail- this-winter-vote-now/ and voting will be opened until 15th November.
SOURCE: Ministry Of Tourism, Sports & Culture
