The Week at the SLHTA, September 5th, 2014
Friday, September 5th, 2014
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The SLHTA in Collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries and Rural Development and support from the Tourism Enhancement Fund is in the planning stages of the first ever Agricultural Symposium, Phase 1.
The symposium is geared at bringing fruit and vegetable farmers together to discuss the needs of the industry. The discussion will seek to shed light on the needs of the hotels and to ascertain ways to meet those needs.
Another main aim of the symposium is to enlighten farmers on the Factoring Fund which was established by the Saint Lucia Development Bank to provide support to farmers.
A number of presentations and live cooking demonstrations are set to be part of the event as well.
The Ministry of Tourism, Heritage and Creative Industries will be hosting a two day training programme designed to equip owners and operators of small properties with basic business training. This training has been scheduled for September 16 and 17, 2014 at the Palm Haven Hotel, Rodney Bay from 8:30a.m. – 3:45p.m. and will continue every quarter for a year.
The Ministry has partnered with the Saint Lucia Tourist Board and Saint Lucia Hotel Association to deliver this training in cognizance of the invaluable contribution of this subsector to the product offering, and the need to enhance its capacity to continuously develop competitive products and deliver quality service.
To this end, we have secured the services of experienced facilitators who are eager to impact their knowledge. The Ministry recommends that a management or senior staff attend this training.Approximately 30 small hotels are expected to be participating in the training.
The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) is pleased to present its first ever Productivity Awareness Weekduring the period 13 – 18 October 2014. Given the importance of including the youth in such national events, a debating competition will take place at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) amongst the various divisions of the college.
The NCPC sees this platform as an opportunity for the youth to garner a greater understanding of the concept of productivity. Additionally, this debating competition will give students an opportunity to understand the concept of productivity and to link it with the current economic situation in Saint Lucia. The students will get a chance to express their opinions on the concept in an exciting and educational platform.
This competition provides an avenue for the students to develop and strengthen their public speaking and debating skills. This activity also presents an avenue to listen to the views of the youth who may be able to provide new ideas in trying to increase the productivity of the local economy.
The Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) in collaboration Ministry of Health and FDL Pest Control is embarking on another sensitization initiative aimed at educating Maintenance Managers/Supervisors at hotels and resorts on two vital issues.
The morning session will focus onmosquito prevention and how to conduct a proper inspection, while the afternoon session will touch on the importance of an integrated approach to pest management.
The training will be held at the Auberge Seraphine on Thursday 18th September 2014 from 9:00amthrough to 4:00pm. The training isFree of Charge and Lunch will be provided.
Your company can opt to participate in the following ways:
Week 1 : September 8th – 12thAll resorts with dive operations can go out to clean the reef and also spear lionfish. More than one day may be needed to complete these activities. You also have the option of inviting guests to participate in the activities.You are required to send a report on your activities to the SLHTA so that an impact assessment can be made.
Week 2: September 15th – 19thResorts are encouraged to invite students from a nearby school to tour your hotel. There, a five minute talk should be done by a senior member of management. More than one school can be chosen, but that would be left to the discretion of the resort. The tour should be no more than an hour long.Please report on your activities to the SLHTA so that an impact assessment can be made.
September 27thVolunteers are invited to help with the beautification of the Rodney Bay Village strip from the main road entrance of the strip to the Jacques Waterfront Restaurant. Details of the beautification will be circulated next week and is expected to include minor repairs to sidewalks, stumps, painting, greening etc. Please indicate to the secretariat, your willingness to participate in this project.
From a “Dragon’s Den” style pitch, the Saint Lucia Tourist Board and the Travel Foundation have awarded one innovative Saint Lucian tour operator a trip to the UK and an opportunity to be featured at the upcoming Saint Lucia Showcase at Luton Hoo Hotel on 11th and 12th September 2014.
Following the introduction of new training launched on island by the Saint Lucia Tourist Board and the Travel Foundation in February, three finalist excursion providers entered the Dragon’s Den style competition to demonstrate how they had put their training into practice to deliver an original excursion in Saint Lucia.
The winning submission was the ‘Leve Project’ by ‘Dennery Mabouya Valley Development Foundation’, a community based project which aims to generate an alternative source of income to support the area’s declining banana trade. It offers tours for visitors inspired by Saint Lucia’s culture and natural environment. Tours combine an active hike with traditional cuisine and cultural entertainment.
The judging panel consisted of experts from the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, Virgin Holidays, the UK’s Travel Trade Gazette and the Travel Foundation who based the verdict on which company best encapsulated the recommendations in the new training to target UK tour operators…read more.
#saintluciarocks will become the latest call to action as the Saint Lucia Tourist Board launches a highly interactive fun-filled social media campaign involving the island’s iconic twin peaks – The Pitons.
#saintluciarocks is a five month campaign that will run from August 11th – December 31st, 2014, with the goal of showcasing Saint Lucia as the coolest Caribbean vacation destination, through the use of various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
As part of the campaign, Saint Lucians and visitors alike are being encouraged to share imagery via social media of themselves, friends and family ‘Touching the Top’ of the iconic Saint Lucian Pitons, in any unique way they can imagine always tagging the photo with #saintluciarocks.
“Like the National Flag and the Saint Lucia Parrot, the Pitons are etched into the social fabric of our nation”, noted Director of Tourism Louis Lewis.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for a decade now, the iconic twin peaks are synonymous with Saint Lucian identity. “What better call to action can there be than to have all citizens and our many visitors alike who are greeted by their stunning beauty upon entry to our shores, to symbolically reach out and attempt to ‘Touch the Top’ of the Pitons,” exclaimed Lewis…Read more.
The ceremony was held at the Begonia conference room at the Bay Gardens Hotel with students, parents and the management team in attendance. Bursaries were awarded to continuing students who maintained passing averages at their last school examinations (Aneika Calvin – fifth form student and Gibba Edward – third form student, both from the St. Joseph’s Convent).
New entrant, Sharnelle Paul (Leon Hess Secondary School), was awarded her first time bursary for a noteworthy performance at the Common Entrance Examination. A special prize was awarded to Abigail Jeremie whose Common Entrance Examination score was the fifth highest on the island.
Feature speaker, Sanovnik Destang – Executive Director of Bay Gardens Resorts, praised the students who maintained their scholarship over years. The new recipients were advised to keep focused, as the next five years will be fun yet challenging. Destang pledged the continued support of Bay Gardens Resorts toward this cause that is near to the hearts of the Board of Directors and management of the company…Read More.
Coco Palm has awarded their second scholarship to Monroe College to Bradley Bray to commence his studies in Hospitality Management for the upcoming 2014/2015 academic year. Following an invitation for all team members to apply for the opportunity to further their education Mr Bray was one of three finalist to be considered.
“We are strong advocates on further education and encouraging our Team to grow with the industry” said Managing Director, Allen Chastanet. He went on to say “Having Monroe College with such proximity to our hotel allows Bradley to continue his professional career whilst studying which is a win win for both him and his department as he raises his game to the ever changing dynamics of the industry”.
“The candidates who applied for the scholarship were all well deserving and it would be a great asset to have all furthering their degree but it was Bradley’s initiative to cross train and extend himself in each role he has held which made the difference” said Feolla Chastanet, Marketing Director who launched the initiative and conducted the selection process…Click Here for Full Story.
On Saturday October 4th, 2014 Dazzle Magazine will be hosting an ultra all-inclusive experience at the Pigeon Island National Landmark. The event namely BLISS represents a celebration of happiness and successes which team 123 Digital would like to share with our advertisers, supporters and well wishers. The event will provide a nice and relaxing atmosphere for networking and blissful partying.
BLISS will feature an international DJ from the neighboring island of Barbados “DJ Puffy” playing an eclectic blend of popular music. The event will commence at 6:00 pm and culminate at 2:00 am. The dress code for this ultra all-inclusive event is beach chic.
The contribution to attend this event is $150 XCD -early bird; $175 XCD thereafter (food and drinks inclusive). Tickets are limited therefore we encourage patrons to reserve their tickets at the earliest. For reservations and ticket purchases please call 452 0123 or 484 5143. For more information visit Dazzle Magazine’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dazzlethemag.
The 22nd Inter-American Congress of Ministers and High-level Authorities of Tourism began here on Wednesday with Caribbean countries being told that they needed to do more to improve the competitiveness of the region’s tourism industry.
“The tourism industry saw growth in the past year. Tourism goods and services, direct and indirect, represented nine percent of the Gross Domestic Product – one in 11 jobs – and accounted for more than US $1 billion in international receipts worldwide in 2013,” said the Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin.
The Saint Lucia Tourist Board continues to revel in significant growth in visitor arrivals recorded for the island in the first seven months of the year. Touting an incredible accomplishment, SLTB officials say total stay over arrivals (by air and ferry) at the end of July 2014, have surpassed all numbers previously recorded in the island’s history.At 208,117, visitor arrivals are 7% higher than the same period last year – a difference of more than 13,000 arrivals. To further emphasize the significance of this year’s performance, increases were recorded every month thus far, with July recording both the highest percentage (13%) as well as actual growth (3672). In addition, the figures recorded in the months of February, March, April and June, were the highest number of arrivals ever recorded in these respective months in the island’s history.
The expansion of the sector is fuelled by growth in particular markets, namely the US and UK, the island’s two largest markets, which increased by 14% and 8% respectively, during the seven month period. Growth was also experienced in the Canadian and European markets, both of which increased by double digit percentages over last year.
Director of Tourism Louis Lewis acknowledged the boost in the sector and attributed its growth to the strategic marketing efforts targeted at key sectors of the source markets, most notably being the airlift expansion strategy and fostering closer relationships with the travel trade. “The outstanding performance recorded this year is testimony to the work that the Tourist Board engages in to market the destination, and can be translated into a greater awareness of the destination in our key source markets. We are very pleased to announce the sector’s performance for the year thus far.”
Saint Lucia is getting ready for welcoming even more visitors to its shores via yet another flight from US carrier Jet Blue airlines. The direct flight from Boston, USA to Hewanorra International airport is scheduled to beginNovember 1, 2014.
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