RETIRED ONTARIO TEACHERS RETURN TO ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

RETIRED ONTARIO TEACHERS RETURN TO ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

Tourism is a vital and essential contributor to the revenue needs of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Our Ministry of Tourism has been launching local and international marketing programs throughout the year to focus attention on this jewel of the Caribbean. According to statistics, results are positive. We are seeing more cruise ships and even in these very difficult economic times, and more tourists are selecting St. Vincent & the Grenadines for their vacation destination.
It’s one thing to attract tourists to our shores, but how do we encourage them to tell their colleagues and friends, and to return for subsequent visits themselves?
Last year, THE VINCENTIAN interviewed a group of Ontario, Canada retired teachers who were making their first visit to St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
THE VINCENTIAN asked them what impressions they would be taking home following their visit. They responded that apart from the beauty and interesting features and history of our island state, they were most impressed with, “The wonderful, friendly, helpful attitude of all the people they met on the island.”
We have only one opportunity to make a good first impression: Obviously we made a good first impression, because again this year, Meikle Turner, RTO Travel Chair has returned with 22 teachers, seven of whom were here last year.
THE VINCENTIAN again interviewed Meikle and a number of his group. At the time of our interviews, the group had been on the island for one week of their two week stay. Without exception, each member said:
· The programs arranged by our leader and Kim Halbich, owner along with her husband Earl of Villa’s Paradise Beach Hotel were interesting and introduced us to the people, history and culture of the island.
· Virtually every Vincentian we met was a goodwill ambassador; friendly , helpful and welcoming.
· Unlike other islands St. Vincent offers us a total vacation experience, where we are not segregated behind gated resorts, being warned against visiting outside areas on our own.
· Never for a moment did we have any concerns about our personal safety.
· Nowhere was the interactive friendliness shown more than by the staff at Paradise Beach Hotel.
During last Friday’s Barbecue night, Paradise cook, Eulinia Evans, from Bellaire, not only produced excellent food, but led the teachers in a Congo line dance to a Harmony String Band calypso tune.
These are just some of the things that make vacation experiences memorable and never to be forgotten; that places St. Vincent & the Grenadines head and shoulders over other vacation destinations.

KINGSTOWN, ST. VINCENT: A PORT OF CALL PARADISE

Tourist dollars lining up for a rum punch


Villa Beach-A safe place to be


Tourist Police welcoming visitors



Third ship has to dock in Kingstown Harbor



Two cruise ships at Harbor terminal dock

KINGSTOWN, ST. VINCENT: A PORT OF CALL PARADISE

Every year tens of thousands of winter weary tourists look forward to dream vacations promised in cruise ship brochures.

· Discover the undiscovered Caribbean
· The tropical islands of the Eastern Caribbean are some of the most beautiful in the world.
· Enjoy crystal-clear waters, brilliant white beaches, and sophisticated shopping.

Tourism departments of every island and port throughout the Caribbean and the world vigorously compete for inclusion in planned visits by the giant cruise ship industry. St. Vincent & the Grenadines is no exception. Cruise ship tourists are affluent and even though they are visiting for only a few hours, they leave much needed tourist dollars behind. Each year, our Ministry of Tourism is is becoming increasingly more successful in attracting cruise ships to our shores. Why St. Vincent?

Because St. Vincent & the Grenadines consistently deliver what cruise ships promise, what a vacationer expects and most importantly, the guarantee of a ‘safe’ island to visit.

A headline in the January 28, 2009 edition of the St. Lucia Star read: “Visitors attacked and robbed in the city!” The article went on to comment about how the majority of the 6000 passengers on board the three cruise ships in port decided to stay on board rather than disembark. Apparently the ship captain advised them accordingly due to the high rate of tourist robberies on the island. As it turned out the St. Lucia Sunday news reported that a British couple who had been aboard the Sea Princess, had been attacked and robbed in the capital that day.

It is evident that the comfort and security of their floating hotel satisfied the safety concerns of the majority of passengers, many of whom were having their first vacation experience. Subsequent events proved the wisdom of their decision. An isolated experience? Perhaps: Could it happen here? Yes: Are we doing something to prevent it? You bet!

Contrast Sunday’s St. Lucia cruise ship events with the three major cruise ships with a similar number of tourists on board, that docked in Kingstown on Tuesday. Thousands of passengers visited Kingstown; others boarded sight-seeing busses to tour St. Vincent, while huge crowds flocked to our beaches, including Villa Beach where The Vincentian interviewed both our very impressive Tourist Police and several visitors among the hundreds sunning and swimming the day away.

The uniformed Tourist Police are friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about St. Vincent and its culture, and freely mingle with and talk to visitors. They are goodwill ambassadors whose presence reinforces the assurance of a safe visit that tourists expect and are entitled to.

A cruise ship visit provides travellers with a 6-8 hour snapshot of a port of call: Food and beverages are consumed, souvenir and duty-free shopping is done, opinions are formed and decisions to return/not return at a future date are made. These pictures taken by The Vincentian leave little doubt that St. Vincent is making an excellent impression on its visitors. An impression of a magical paradise that they will share with relatives and friends at home; an impression that will make them want to return, next time for a much longer visit.