The St. Lucia Tourist Board launched a brand campaign themed "Lift Your Senses," reintroduced the tag line "Simply Beautiful," and plans to showcase special events to drive tourism to the destination.
The announcements were made during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace, sponsored by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
"Last year was a year of consolidation for us. Our year-end figures indicate a 1.9% drop in overall visitor numbers, with the U.S. market down 6% due to challenges presented by a loss in airlift, but U.K. arrivals up by 75,000 despite the presence of the Air Passenger Duty on ticket prices," said Louis Lewis, director of tourism.
Yachting business grew by 6%, but cruise traffic slipped 9%, according to Lewis.
The picture is brighter this year with strong winter traffic, high load factors out of the U.S. averaging 87% and the new promotional push that emphasizes the natural beauty, hospitality, history, heritage and mix of accommodations on St. Lucia.
"From strategy development through to execution, the 'Lift Your Senses' campaign captures what sets St. Lucia apart from other Caribbean destinations in a way that will differentiate our island in an extremely crowded competitive set," Lewis said.
A component of the campaign will be promotion of special events, such as the Jazz Festival from April 30 to May 12 and Carnival on July 17-18.
Six Senses will make its Caribbean debut, managing Freedom Bay St. Lucia, a spa resort under development in Malgretoute at the foot of the Pitons on the island's southwest coast. Construction begins in the second quarter of the year with completion in two years, according to Lewis.
Last month, the former Jalousie Plantation completed its $100 million rebranding and expansion of Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort. Elite Island Resorts opened the St. James's Club Morgan Bay, the former Morgan's Bay Beach Resort, in November.
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