The company used the occasion to provide updates on the upcoming port redevelopment project and reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive development through continued stakeholder consultation.
Lancelot Arnold, General Manager of the Saint Lucia Cruise Port, said the past year has focused heavily on designing a port that meets the needs of all key stakeholders.
“What we've been concerned with and concentrated on mostly was first of all engaging with the stakeholders and getting our designs in place that it will attend to their needs. What we did not want was to just implement something and force people to attend to it. So it had to be a collaborative approach.”
Arnold revealed that the construction phase of the cruise port redevelopment is expected to begin in June.
“We've gotten to the point of construction… and even today, some of the feedback from the stakeholders has been very encouraging in terms of our involvement, our ability to partner and listen to them. I think that's critical as we seek to improve the cruise industry,” he added.
Tourism and Investment Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire, speaking on the sidelines of the media event, emphasised that the anticipated increase in cruise passenger arrivals would require the development of supporting infrastructure across the island.
“There are a lot of issues we need to respond to: overcrowding on certain beaches, how do we deal with it, which is what we discuss now,” Dr. Hilaire said, continuing, “Visitor and citizen safety is also a big issue. For some of the areas that are frequented by our visitors, we need to make sure that our locals who go there are safe and secure, as well as the visitors.”
The Minister also spoke about the importance of empowering vendors to meet higher standards of service delivery. “We have done some training with vendors and we're going to do some more training to make sure that our vendors deliver higher standards of service,” he stated.
As Saint Lucia looks to cement its place as a premier cruise destination in the region, both GPH and the government appear focused on ensuring that the benefits of tourism growth are inclusive and sustainable.