by Brian Major
Last updated: 11:45 AM ET, Tue August 10, 2021
Dr. Ernest Hilaire was sworn in this week as Saint Lucia's minister for tourism, investment, creative industries, culture and information, abruptly launching a new era for the tourism-reliant Caribbean nation's travel marketing approach.
Hilaire's appointment by new Saint Lucia prime minister Phillip J. Pierre, whose July 26 election ended the five-year, one-term tenure of Allen Chastanet, follows a half-decade marked by strong tourism growth later derailed by unprecedented pandemic challenges.
Hilaire replaces Dominic Fedee, whom Chastanet appointed tourism minister in June 2016. In a statement Monday, Hilaire said his first actions will include "[convening] meetings with the Ministry of Tourism, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and private sector organizations to gain visibility on the current plans."
Hilaire expects to gain "meaningful insight [to] ensure the strategy set forth for promoting Saint Lucia is one which positions the destination for full recovery and sustainable growth."
Hilaire previously served as Saint Lucia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2016. His background includes sports management and international relations experience including a previous term as chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, according to the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority statement.
Saint Lucia was among the first Caribbean nations to re-open to visitors following the pandemic-driven travel shutdown, welcoming travelers in July 2020. Like many regional destinations, the country has operated under a comprehensive protocol regime designed to resume tourism activity while safeguarding public health.
Caribbean media reports characterized Chastanet's loss as a surprise to some observers. As a former tourism minister, he directed an aggressive marketing program that emphasized the nation's natural beauty and desirability as an adventure, romance, health and wellness and wedding destination.
Hilaire is now tasked with rebuilding the country's tourism industry in an encouraging but unpredictable post-outbreak environment. While travelers have demonstrated a strong desire to resume Caribbean vacations, destinations continue to maintain strict travel protocols that continue to be subject to change.
"Tourism is one of the main economic drivers of the Saint Lucian economy which strengthens our supply chain, promotes economic development and creates significant employment," said Hilaire. Government portfolios will "function interconnectedly," he said, with the aim of "further bolstering the tourism sector and placing people at the center of the sector."
Saint Lucia hosted 432,736 land-based arrivals in 2019, a 7.3 percent year-over-year increase. The same year, cruise visitor arrivals grew by 3.5 percent to 786,743. The pandemic slashed those figures by 69 percent and 62 percent respectively in 2020, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data.
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