 St. Lucia's tourism sector has received a shot in the arm with the reopening of a major source market. We get details from Geraint Georges of the St. Lucia Tourism Authority. The government of St. Lucia noting the tourism sector's integral role in national and socioeconomic development of the country will be ensuring that the instructional arrangements surrounding tourism development are revised to address the various challenges facing the industry. Minister for Tourism Investment Creative Industries, Culture and Information, Honourable Dr. Unastahile at a recently held meeting of the Tourism Advisory Committee highlighted his vision for St. Lucia's tourism sector. The minister explained that efforts to improve tourism governance must recognise tourism as a composite sector to which many other sectors contribute. He expressed his belief that St. Lucia should also be afforded the opportunity to contribute and to benefit from the sector. And if we can go back to St. Lucia's, you are part of this. You add a room, you add two rooms and you operate your own micro-business. Everything in there, make it an authentic St. Lucia experience. Let them go in the communities, create the economic activity in the community so people, visitors can go to the communities and enjoy it and earn money for the communities, earn money for families. We're not saying don't go to resorts, but we say we can offer you a St. Lucia experience that is authentic, that is genuine and reflects the best of us. And if St. Lucia can start seeing, they can earn a livelihood from the tourism industry, whether it's in the village shop, whether it's the village restaurant, whether it's at a accommodation in a particular home, whatever it is, St. Lucia's now see more and more opportunities in the tourism industry for them. Dr. Ehler stated that visitors should be getting a more indigenous St. Lucia experience, even utilizing products made and sold in St. Lucia such as soap. The minister also asserted that St. Lucia should play an integral role in all stages of the development of the sector. This would ensure a sense of ownership as it relates to the tourism sector and as such, more St. Lucia's would be able to earn from the sector. We need to take a frank look at some of the developments we have coming up in St. Lucia. I feel very uncomfortable that an investor would be coming to St. Lucia and we have an understanding and agreement that you would put 200 million dollars a resort, but then the designs are not done by St. Lucia's. No work involved in the design and the drawings and the architectural work is done by St. Lucia's. The construction, when you look at the requests for incentives, the Montalorys and trucks and tractors they want to bring down, we had the St. Lucia and contractors involved in constructing the resort or the hotel, whatever it is, and you said one shouldn't we start changing this and say to developers, if you're going to come to St. Lucia, then surely you must use some of our architectural skills and talents that we have in this country. It cannot be just to put a stamp on drawings to send it to the DCA. Let us see St. Lucia's reflected in the designs and the drawings and the construction. Can we see more St. Lucia's involving it? I'm not saying your construction manager should not be of your choosing wherever in the world they come from, but more St. Lucia construction firms involved in building it. The Tourism Advisory Committee's meeting also provided an opportunity to review the sector's reopening strategy, while deciding on the way forward amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belma George explained that the review encompasses protocols and measures put in place to facilitate the reopening of the sector as well as what obtained in other sectors. News at breaches, current active cases on island and the risk associated with the reopening of the sector to name a few. Now a lot of times when we think of COVID we tend to focus only on the challenges, but it has also given us quite a few opportunities to take a really intense look at the tourism industry and to really find how things ought to operate, not just for COVID but in a more sustainable way where we look at health and safety in relation to the sector. So a lot of our reviews, we're looking at sustainable measures, the challenges that we've faced, the risks that we note with the sector because we've had an opportunity to look a lot closer at the industry, and also more importantly making recommendations that are sustainable, not only for the COVID environment now but longer term. So a lot of the recommendations, we look at how we minimize the risk that the tourism sector can provide, and also the other issue that we are going to look at is moving forward. How do we continue developing the sector, keeping in mind health and safety as a very, very important aspect of the sector. Chairman of the St. Dutcher Tourism Authority, Tadius Antoine explained that many factors must be taken into consideration when deciding the way forward for St. Dutcher's tourism sector. The Tourism Advisory Committee essentially is a committee, it's a ministry base, so it's a policy-based institution to help advise from the ministry point of view also, the minister's point of view and to engage stakeholders to develop a plan of action as to how we move forward the tourism industry, not just during COVID but for tourism on the whole. All right, so how is this, if this committee is going to face the daunting task ahead as far as the COVID scenario is concerned, we know it's two years ongoing, how is the Tourism Advisory Committee going to put its role into play to ensure that the tourism environment and the tourism economy continues as we know it? As you have heard from the minister earlier on, it's about balancing livelihoods and also balancing lives. So while the Tourism Advisory Committee looks at more of the future planning of the tourism industry, it's also taking consideration now, what's happening now and in doing so, it works in the Ministry of Health in deciding what best protocols are put in place, what best advice will give our results, our alternative accommodation in inviting tourists to our island and in helping the staff of those institutions to stay employed. But it's about a plan forward for the tourism industry, for now and also for the future. The 17 member committee will also be revising several legislation so as to ensure all are able to benefit from incentives and other initiatives within the sector, from the Government Information Service, who made Mark reporting.