Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association President Paul Collymore expects a bumper 2024 tourism year.
“I think when we compare to last year, we are looking at a really good year ahead of us,” Collymore told reporters on Tuesday.
He pointed to airlift accounting for more than 100,000 seats over last year and about 40,000 for the summer.
The SLHTA President stated that the numbers position Saint Lucia uniquely and in an enviable spot.
“With all of the festivals that we have planned for this year, be it jazz, sports tourism – we have the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup. We think that the outlook again, with all of the various initiatives, activities, and the collaboration that we have together and the renewed investor confidence and all of the various upgrades and developments, that we are in store for a good year ahead,” Collymore told reporters.
Collymore also called attention to the performance of the cruise tourism sector.
Earlier this week, Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire announced that the performance of Saint Lucia’s vital tourism industry so far for 2024 is proving to be the best.
“If all goes well and we are expecting  this year to be our best year on record,” Hilaire declared.
Why do we have an slhta president an a CEO? Does that make sense?
@Grand Anse, Yes, it makes perfect sense. The board of directors typically hires the CEO to oversee day-to-day operations, manage staff, and so on. The president is typically an elected or appointed member who is the public face, attending high-level talks, appearing in front of the media, and so on. I am not sure about the SLHTA, but in some cases, the president may be a volunteer or receive a stipend rather than a full salary.