 Coming to you from RTIF Studios, I am Anithya Antoine and this is your Midday News Brief. St. Lucia has significantly boosted its media presence following participation in the just concluded Caribbean Tourism Organization, CTO, Media Day and Press Conference in Toronto, Canada. Representatives from more than a dozen Caribbean destinations will on hand the dialogue with travel media at the August 22, 2019 activity. The island was represented by the Minister of Tourism and CTO Chairman Honourable Dominic Fede, who appeared as a keynote speaker provided updates on the Caribbean and the economic development of the region. Minister Fede told his audience that 1.4 million Canadians had visited the Caribbean in the first quarter of 2019, with overall arrivals rising 12% to 9.1 million. That 12% figure for the Caribbean compares to 4.4% for tourism visits around the world, highlighting just how robust the Caribbean's comeback had been following a devastating hurricane season. A new cohort of Peace Corps volunteers have officially been sworn in. The 11 volunteers will help fulfil the overarching goal of the Peace Corps Caribbean, achieving world peace and friendship. Associate Peace Corps Director Sharman Jules noted that over 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in St Lucia since the collaboration in 1961. The trainees resided with host families in the community of Barbano, while they underwent training and began settling into St Lucia's culture. The volunteers give a demonstration of what they have learnt, while being here. The Peace Corps swearing-in ceremony was held at the Coco Palm Conference Room on Friday, August 23, 2019. St Lucia celebrates breastfeeding month. The Ministry of Health and Wellness is seeking to help create an environment that supports breastfeeding. Ministry of Health officials says that whilst they continue to play their part in promoting breastfeeding, studies show that St Lucia's rates of breastfeeding remain low. The theme for this year's observance is empower mothers enable breastfeeding. Public Health Nursing Supervisor Prasar Jouda says it's not just breastfeeding, but breastfeeding exclusively, which means only breast milk for the first six months. This has been your media news brief. Thank you for watching.