The Saint Lucia Kings’ recent title-winning season is set to have ripple effects in the tourism sector.
This marks the first piece of silverware for the Kings’ Indian-based ownership group and has reportedly generated significant interest in Saint Lucia and among the cricket-obsessed subcontinent.
The group, which includes businessman Mohit Burman and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, also owns the Indian Premier League franchise, the Punjab Kings.
Since they acquired the franchise in 2021, there have been notable cricketing exchanges between the two nations, with coaches from India coming to Saint Lucia and vice versa.
Now, Minister for Tourism Dr Ernest Hilaire has declared that his ministry intends to leverage this newfound success to create tourism ties between the two countries.
“The success of the Kings is already creating excitement for next year,’ Hilaire said. ‘We now need to think strategically. One of the things we’re thinking about, and we have a meeting in London in November, is for us to meet with some Indian travel agents to see how we can start tapping into the Indian markets, both in North America, as well as in India, because the Saint Lucia Kings are owned by the same [people] that own the Punjab Kings.”
“There was a buzz in India when Saint Lucia won as well. So we need to start seeing how we can leverage this and get even more visitors to come into Saint Lucia. Because remember, every time a visitor comes into Saint Lucia, there’s a certain amount of [spending] that takes place.”
“You talk about car rental, you talk about food and beverage, you talk about souvenirs, you talk about just enjoying Saint Lucia, visiting sites, and attractions. The more people you can get to come into the country and the more you can get them to spend in the country, the better for the economy and better for the creation of employment, government taxes, etc.”
This move aligns with the government’s goal to tap into non-traditional markets and develop the sports tourism subsector.
God help us all if King is involved.
Let’s hope Hillary will do his best for St Lucia. However it’s not all about the tourists coming here…………sort out the roads, the hospitals, put road signs up, tidy our verges, better customer services etc etc etc show the tourists we can do better than more will come.
St. Lucia GDP per Capita is about 13K USD. India’s GDP per Capita is 2.5K. USD. What sort of clowns are you people to think India is a market to tap into. You think the average Indian cares to take 2 days off their vacation to travel here? You think the average Indian can afford to vacation here? Jesus Christ you people are daft.
Dr. Hilaire is looking for every insignificant thing to make it seem like he’s doing a great job. The facts are:
1. The journey from India to St. Lucia is not short or inexpensive.
2. A temporary visa is required for Indians to visit St. Lucia.
3. Most Indian folks cannot afford these expenses.
4. St. Lucia is not scheduled to host the CPL finals for many years.
Taking these facts into consideration, the CPL is not going to have a significant impact for the St. Lucian economy so please quit the nonsense.
Mr Hilaire, the residents of Marigot Terraces are crying to see their district representative to discuss the state of their road. Hilaire are you the one? If you are please come and drive in our area.
The Kings win, and the tourism minister sees tourists.
Alfred win, the tourism minister sees even more tourists.
It’s obvious that the tourism minister is holuciating and should be quickly replaced before causing harm to himself and county.
Meanwhile, my sight will be affixed on Port Castries looking for that cruise ship full of Indians.