- Travel Advisors: SVG is safe and welcoming, lauds Vincy hospitality
Over the last week over 500 tourism industry travel advisors decended on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as part of a strategic move to ramp up tourism bookings to the multi-island destination.
The travel advisors visited various sites and locations across the country while on their week-long stay at the Sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines Resort at Buccament Bay.
During the business review session, participants heard addresses from tourism industry leaders, including Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International, Adam Stewart, and this country’s Minister of Tourism, Honourable Carlos James.
According to Minister James, the travel advisors commented on the beauty of the island, the warmth and hospitality of our Vincentian people, noting particularly how safe and welcoming it felt visiting various sites across the island.
The coordinated visit, which saw two 737 chartered jets bringing the visitors to the island, is a strategic partnership with Sandals, travel advisors, and the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines through the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Authority.
Putting the new tourism investments in perspective, Minister James told the travel advisors that as soon as the country had started to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hit by a volcanic eruption, followed immediately by a tropical storm.
“When you sell an airline ticket or you sell a room, you’re putting monies in the pockets of taxi operators, vendors, fisher folk, farmers, ordinary people who depend on us, so that they can make a living as our economy develops. This is a call to action to ensure that we recover and to ensure that our economy remains viable,” Minister James said.
What really sets St Vincent and the Grenadines apart from the other islands, MinisterJames shared, “it is one of the last remaining islands with a soul. You can feel it. You can feel the pulse. You can feel the people.”
The week-long programme climaxed with the return of Sandals’ star-studded Star Awards, where hundreds of leading sales executives were recognised for their performance across the tourism industry.
Also addressing the business review session were: Gebhard Rainer, CEO of SRI; Zane Kirby, president and CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors; Jeff Clarke, president of Unique Vacations Inc (UVI), affiliate of the worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches resorts; Gary Sadler, executive vice-president for sales and industry relations at UVI; and Trevor Sadler, CEO of Inter-Caribbean Airways.
