The recently-launched Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC), is expected to set the tone and new vision for the local tourism industry, in a thrust to ensure that tourism development is in sync with national and socio-economic development.
The TAC was launched on May 25, and established as a technical working group. Sanctioned by Cabinet Conclusion no. 138 of 2018, its overall objective is to improve the competitiveness of the tourism industry using a multi-stakeholder approach.
Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Hon. Dominic Fedee, is the TAC Chair. He described the new TAC as the “game changer.”
“Today is a transformative day and it is profound in what the TAC will do for the governance of tourism here in Saint Lucia,” he said. “It provides an opportunity to cast vision for the industry. We have a great opportunity to take our industry to the next level.”
Articulating the vision for the Tourism Advisory Committee, Prime Minister Hon. Allen Chastanet, said there must be a collective vision and understanding of the tourism product.
“The intention is to recognize that all of you are in [the field of] tourism. Customs, red caps, taxi drivers, immigration, gas station attendants, store keepers, police officers. I want you to appreciate that this is a business, and the job of the TAC is to understand that business, help define the branding position for Saint Lucia, and most importantly, ensure that everybody is living up to that brand promise,” he said. “I fully endorse this committee and I want you to know that at the highest level of Cabinet this is regarded with the greatest level of respect.”
The seventeen-member Tourism Advisory Committee has several functions, among them to maintain close ties with national and governmental agencies, statutory bodies, NGOs and other private entities, for the implementation of national tourism plans and policies.
The TAC will meet once monthly, and will work closely with the Tourism Authority and Village Tourism Incorporated.
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