 Fellow St. Louisians, as we commemorate World Tourism Day 2020 today, September 27th along with the United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO, we do so in an era of crisis but also one of much opportunity. COVID-19 has truly changed the landscape of travel in recent months and as the world grapples to return to normalcy, our efforts in St. Lucia are to ensure that a responsible phase reopening of tourism continues. Since the resumption of aviation service on July 9th, all efforts are geared at enforcing strict travel protocols to protect our local communities. No doubt, our small country has demonstrated that when the citizens of small states band together they can accomplish extraordinary things. I was most proud when analysis done on the country's response of COVID-19 that St. Lucia featured as number one in the entire western hemisphere. Kudos to our frontliners, our government, and our people for the shared sacrifices to bring our country through one of its most difficult periods. On this World Tourism Day, I salute you all on the tremendous successes of the collective contribution as had on the public health management landscape. This has no doubt propelled St. Lucia in the best position in the Caribbean to realize a productive and most effective reopening. Declarations by the Center for Disease Control, the CDC, that removed all travel restrictions to St. Lucia is also another positive development. While we remain inspired by the 6,000 visitors that have so far flocked our shores, it is by no means enough to compensate for the devastation of COVID-19 on tourism. Many hotels, car rental companies remain unviable and thousands of tourism jobs are still in the flux but every visitor, every new flight and every day that a hotel reopens present us with boundless opportunities. I pay tribute to the many thousands of tourism employees, those impacted negatively by the pandemic, ancillary service providers, and hospitality students across the island. You have demonstrated much tenacity and perseverance by surviving the impact of COVID's destruction of the industry. This year's International Tourism Day comes at a very critical moment as the countries, the world over, are laser focused on the industry as a driver of economic recovery. This is testament to the power of tourism to generate socio-economic development in small and large countries, whether in rural or urban communities. St. Lucia is swiftly advancing in this direction with our Village Tourism Program which will see the further development of eight communities nationally. Thus far, communities have been listed under the pilot project, include Grosally, Souffray and Ancillary Canaries. Under this program, the focus is to ensure that this becomes an economic pillar providing jobs and to greater empower St. Lucia's to become entrepreneurs in tourism. With a future of this promising, COVID-19 should not frustrate the best of our ideals, that naturally see opportunity and grasp it. Instead, we should find much inspiration from the successes we have had so far in the public health management and cause these successes to imbuing us a vision of an industry with a stronger better tomorrow. In other words, out of this clutch of dire circumstance can come a bright new day of light. On behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, I bid you a happy International Tourism Day.