St Lucia celebrates 40 years of independence

The eastern Caribbean nation of St Lucia looks set for a bumper 2019 when it celebrates 40 years of independence, with a clutch of new projects to revitalise its tourism offering.

UK operators are already forecasting strong performance for the island, pointing to British Airways’ increased seat capacity on winter flights from Gatwick as a promising start to the peak tourism season.

Karl Thompson, managing director of Unique Caribbean Holidays, the tour operating division of Sandals and Beaches Resorts, says: “This year was strong for bookings to St Lucia. Growth from the UK stands at 14% for Sandals Resorts, just below our overall growth for 2018 (20%).

“St Lucia is already showing a strong outlook for 2019, with a growth of more than 9% expected across our three existing Sandals resorts. The popularity of the island has also led us to announce plans for our fourth Sandals property.”

Meanwhile, the Inspiring Travel Company has reported a 6% rise in the number of room nights on 2017, with bookings for 2019 up 11% on this time last year, reports senior product and marketing manager, Helen Tabois.

“England’s cricketers are touring the West Indies in the first few months of 2019, so we have developed new spectator packages that are available through our sister company, ITC Sports Travel.

“Cricket fans can opt for an eight-night St Lucia tour to watch the third Test on a fully hosted tour in early February [prices from £4,145pp]. We’ve also chartered the luxury yacht, Crystal Esprit, for a West Indies voyage in the last week of February.”