[ad_1]
Castries, Saint Lucia: Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Ernest Hilaire highlighted the reflection on the month that November has so far in St. Lucia. He outlined various activities and shared his insights to promote them tourism Industry.
He added that as he waited here at Heathrow for his flight home, he couldn’t help but reflect on the month November has been so far. So many emotions; Yes, life is a roller coaster after all.
“It started with the emptiness fed by the violent deaths of two people I knew personally. One was a young person, just a teenager, who was tragically shot dead a few days before she was due to dance in banana at our Jounen Kweyol celebrations. The other was always a young man positive and encouraging for me, keeps reminding me why he voted for me and his high hopes for what I can do for the constituency,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
In addition, St. Lucia and the Department of Tourism have created the Community Tourism Program. Ernest Hilaire was excited about the potential of this program to transform the tourism industry. It will provide greater opportunities for people to participate in the industry and, more importantly, own the industry.
Then World went to London Travel Market, a leading tourism fair where travel partners meet to update each other and close business deals. The prospects for our industry are fantastic and St. Lucia can look forward to an exciting season. Of course Ernest Hilaire also celebrated my birthday and thanks to so many people it was unforgettable.
Then back to St. Lucia for the Global Piton Awards. This is a recognition exercise celebrating the agents who best sell Saint Lucia for their hard work and dedication. It was a fantastic couple of days including a cocktail hosted by the Prime Minister, a gala night and a fun boat ride.
Then head to the Middle East to attend the Global Citizens Forum where Ernest Hilaire participated in a panel on the challenges of impact investing. It was great to give the perspective of a small island nation. The forum was an excellent gathering of individuals who all want to help build a better future by working to promote global citizenship. He even met his friend Chris Gayle, who still commands attention as only the boss of the universe can. Machel also made his contribution and showed his boundless talent.
Meanwhile, St. Lucia and the Ministry of Tourism undertook an intensive schedule of meetings with our CIP partners, over 10 in two days. The Ministry of Tourism has fully reviewed the program and is ready to significantly reposition it to bring the greatest benefit to our employees. The highlight of our trip was a cocktail for agents in the area to reconnect and restore us position. The feedback was enormous.
Meanwhile, Saint Lucia continued to receive awards for its tourism product. Most notable was winning the World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination again. Provisional arrivals dates for October 2022 have been shared with me and the news is getting better. In October our numbers are registered with 94% of the highest numbers of October 2019. Even without a recovery in regional travel, we are almost back to the 2019 numbers.
Then it was sad news again. The tragic death of Kezia comes as a shock.
He added: “We had a wonderful relationship, she loved challenging me about the constituency and politics. I would blame her for not voting for me and she would just laugh. Last month. she came to visit me on constituency day and indicated that she was willing to fulfill her promise to help me transform constituency. She wanted to know what she could do to help me because everyone needed to help with some of our challenges. She said she knew I was very busy being Minister and needed help. Just last month and now this.”
While sharing the update, Ernest Hilaire explained that tomorrow they would have internal discussions on the proposed agreement with GPH and that there would be meetings with stakeholders over the next few days. Then more meetings and field trips to complete some projects in tourism and in my constituency. Busy, but sometimes the spirit needs nourishment.
Always a student of dialectical thinking, he recalled the words of Gramsci, which were called “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will”.
Ernest Hilaire quoted: “I have always tried to synthesize these two feelings. I accept the world as it is, with all its challenges and realities, and I know my weaknesses and flaws, but I also know that we must be brave and believe in our ability to create a better world steadfast move forward.”
Related
[ad_2]
