 Welcome to NationBeat. I am Genelle Norville bringing you this brief on the pulse of our nation and highlights around the heart of St. Lucia. Governments investments and marketing firsts in the tourism sector are realizing dividends. Vaccination has begun for the human papillomal virus in schools and health officials monitor the increase in cases of measles worldwide. Governments investments and marketing firsts in the tourism sector are realizing dividends on many fronts. For instance, Hopper, a flight booking app that predicts prices and helps book flights and hotels at the right time, has released a list of 10 destinations surging in popularity in 2019 and St. Lucia features prominently. Hopper, which boasts a large millennial user base, exceeding 30 million in number, reported that interest in St. Lucia had increased 12% compared with last year. Good enough for the number 7 spot globally. The app derived the data through its watches where users select destinations they are considering traveling to and the app recommends the most affordable time to purchase a flight. The top position was claimed by Bora Bora with a 24% increase in interest followed by St. Martin with a 21% increase. Apart from St. Lucia and St. Martin, no other Caribbean islands made the list. And as St. Lucia continues to capture new niche markets, affordability as a destination is crucial. As we hear in this report, not only are airfares for St. Lucia reducing, but demand for the destination has seen an increase in flight services. With the number of tourists to the island expected to increase in 2019, the government and other tourism related entities are playing their part to ensure there is adequate accommodation. Chief Communications Officer of the St. Lucia Tourism Authority, Clinton Reynolds, highlighted a number of projects to be rolled out by the government to do just that. He also indicated that other entities like the St. Lucia Hotel and the Tourism Association remain committed to improving the quality and standards of members' properties, especially smaller properties. In terms of where people want to stay, that's dependent on the visitor. It's also dependent on what these various entities are offering. So if my offering appeals to you, then we'll have a connection. If it doesn't, then I'll look for accommodation somewhere else. So what the focus is on now is ensuring that our players in the industry understand that their products have to be up to scratch so that people who come in would gravitate towards their product. And so there's a lot of training taking place. The SLHTA has been meeting with its members to ensure that these things happen and that whatever the offering is, they represent the St. Lucia industry very well, the St. Lucia tourism industry very well. This will ensure an even playing field so that all properties are able to benefit from the increase in tourist arrivals. Reynolds explained that a number of flights coming in to St. Lucia has increased as well. Additionally, some of the fares have been reduced. The Chief Communications Officer noted the benefits to the island. So all of these together provide other opportunities for our visitors to get into the island and also to spend some time. Liat and Condor, they have come together in an inter-aligned exchange. So they're working together to allow visitors from Frankfurt, Germany to get into St. Lucia. So we're very excited about that. And with that as well, we have seen some reductions in the cost of flights from American Airlines, from United and some other airlines, Caribbean Airlines as well. So this will provide passengers or travelers an opportunity to get into St. Lucia at a reduced rate. And we are very happy about these developments. The SLTA expressed its commitment to growing the tourism industry from the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. Main time efforts directed at improving St. Lucia's competitiveness in tourism will intensify this year with the implementation of several specially designed programs. Minister for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, Dominic Fede, cited that one of the shortcomings has been the fact that too much focus has been placed on arrival figures and not enough on the revenue areas. The aim according to the Minister is to ensure St. Lucia's uniqueness is put on the forefront by training vendors and other entities within the tourism sector. This will enable these individuals to enhance their product offering and that they too will be able to benefit from the soaring tourism figures. So we have to be even more strategic and try even harder to make sure that we position the product right, that we offer the tourist exactly what they need. It's a time that requires innovation on the part of every single tourism employee, every single taxi driver, every single tour or an excursion has got to be that much better than the other island. And so we are now working on this exciting project where we're spending about 40 million EC dollars with the World Bank to make sure that we build the capacity of our private sector so that they can benefit from all of the growth that we're seeing. The Minister also highlighted the Village Tourism Project. The project according to Minister Fede will provide individuals with the required training and resources to leverage the accommodation sector. And so what we're doing is leveraging the strength, the creativity, the mystique of our villages so that we can position them as tourist destinations in their own right so that we empower more St. Louisians to get involved. Now one of the difficulties that you may find with small tourism SMEs is that access to financing becomes very difficult. Our government has taken the policy decision that we will use monies that are appropriated to the Taiwanese cooperation agreement and we will use those funds to make sure that we bridge some of the gaps that are associated. The Minister indicated that the entity with responsibility for Village Tourism will be established by April of the next financial year. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. This is Nation Beat when we come back the Department of Health and Wellness embarks on two major preventative campaigns. What's in the food you're eating? Do you really even know? All the chemicals and hormones used to accelerate their growth All the artificial flavoring, sweeteners and colors too We consume and we don't spare a thought for the damage that they'll do Think about the children How will we save them? Chemicals and GMOs are not the solution Use organic and join Excessive agrochemical use, additives and genetically modified foods are harmful to health and the environment Join the Good Food Revolution Grow, buy and consume organic A message from Rye St. Lucia and the Ministry of Sustainable Development with funding from the GEF Small Grants Program, UNDP Welcome back Vaccination has begun for the human papillomavirus HPV in schools Anisia Antoine has the details The Department of Health and Wellness has approved the administering of the human papillomavirus HPV vaccine as part of its immunization schedule at schools on the island Girls and boys aged 11 and 12 years are expected to benefit from the HPV vaccine which will protect from the HPV caused cancers, in particular cervical cancer Sharon Belma George is the medical officer in the Department of Health Immunization of vaccination remains the most cost effective public health program in terms of preventing diseases and we have successfully been able to eliminate or eradicate and prevent a lot of diseases, vaccine preventable diseases over the years Dr Belma George stressed on the importance of sensitizing the public on vaccines It's really important that the public access accurate information because it's assisting some of the decisions that they make for themselves and for their families So over the last couple of years we have been working in terms of expanding our program with the introduction of the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine and also the introduction of the HPV or the human papilloma virus to our population We are actually behind a lot of the other islands in the region who have already introduced this vaccine successfully into their population For girls and boys starting the HPV vaccination, the vaccine of choice is garrison which will be administered in two doses at least six months apart routine informed consent depending on the school will be maintained Julieta Frederick Cassius Immunization Manager, Department of Health explained the intent behind introducing the vaccine Once somebody receives a vaccine, we expect the body to react to it to produce the antibodies that will be infected enough to be able to protect that individual from this disease So again, the purpose for immunization or vaccination is to be able to ensure that our population there are high levels of immunity in the population to protect against specific diseases The Department of Health is urging all parents to sign up their girls and boys for the HPV vaccine as it is a safe and reliable way to protect against cancer From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Wellness is closely monitoring the increased cases of measles affecting countries in Europe, the Americas and wider Caribbean region In a statement, Acting National Epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Ferswa has indicated that St. Lucia has been free of local transmission of measles since 1990 However, the Department of Health and Wellness is asking that St. Lucia's remain vigilant given the travel ties with affected countries during the tourism season Dr. Ferswa says it is necessary that St. Lucia's are educated about the symptoms of measles as it can pose a threat to public health The virus is vaccine preventable, meaning that individuals who are vaccinated against measles will not get it if they are in contact with an infected individual The virus is spread through droplets of air when the infected individual coughs or talks and so persons need to be under lookout for certain signs and symptoms Persons with the infection usually present with a fever which may be accompanied by cough which is usually accompanied by cough There are characteristic white spots in the mouth, reddening of the eyes or conjunctivitis as well as a rash which would appear later on in the illness It starts on the face and moves to the rest of the body The acting national epidemiologist also emphasised on the need for the Department of Health and Wellness to enhance its surveillance efforts as to ensure control of measles transmission in St. Lucia Because we have not seen a case of measles since 1990 the Ministry of Health is being proactive and is commencing sensitization or refresher courses for frontline workers such as the physicians, the nurses, persons at the ports with the aim of helping them or sensitizing them so that it can aid in the identification and management of a measles case if it does present We also will be working with our non-health partners such as tourism, early childhood development centres as well as island health because we are seeking to unite and combine our efforts in an effort to keep the population safe The Department of Health and Wellness is calling on St. Lucia to review the immunization status and to get vaccinated Reporting from the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness I am Fennel Neptune That's the Nation Beat. Join us next time on NTN at 7.30pm with a repeat at 7.30am and on this station as we fill the pulse and heart of our community You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel I am Channel Novel