The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority sponsored the trips of a few social media influencers as part of their marketing campaign for Destination Saint Lucia and Lucian Carnival.

Since the end of this year’s carnival season, this move has been criticised by some members of the public, who questioned the viability of using social media influencers and celebrities as marketing tools.

Tourism Minister Ernest Hilaire defends the use of influencers in Saint Lucia's marketing strategy, emphasising that this approach is integral to modern-day marketing.

Hilaire highlights that the widespread use of artificial intelligence has simplified the process of promoting destinations to potential visitors, making influencer marketing a valuable tool for reaching and engaging with target audiences.

“It has proven to be highly effective and now with the advent of AI it's becoming even more targeted and more streamlined where you can actually get exactly the profiles of the persons that do come to Saint Lucia.”

The Minister acknowledges that while the government cannot precisely quantify the number of arrivals resulting from social media influencers, other analytics provide valuable insights.

“I cannot tell you 800 people came because of an influencer. What I can tell you is that our numbers are phenomenal because of the use of influencers…but you can correlate the use of certain strategies to those persons and the spaces in which they operate.”

Activities for Lucian Carnival 2025 are already being planned, with the season lasting from July 1st to July 23rd 2025.