Hilaire says Creole Heritage Month is not being marketed as an international celebration. Instead, he says, Jounen Kweyol will remain a mainly cultural celebration for the people of Saint Lucia.

“It’s the best month of the year for many of us. We dont have a lot of visitors coming in for creole heritage month, that has not been the tradition in Saint Lucia. It has not developed as a big internaitonal-appeal event.  There are people once they’re in Saint Lucia, they participate in it,” Hilaire said.

The Culture Minister explained that the Tourism Authority uses other activities to market the island internationally. “But we have Jazz and we have carnival and we actually go out to promote and to bring in visitors. We don’t have that kind of emphasis on creole heritage month - and when you do it, some people say you’re making all the culture for the visitors,” he noted.

The Folk Research Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, has embarked on a Creole Heritage Month awareness campaign. Citizens are urged to speak creole, dress in cultural wear and decorate workplaces in madras every Wednesday and Friday of October 2023