By Kenton X. Chance
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) will never be an “over-commercialised” destination, the head of its tourism promotion agency has told regional and international journalists here.
“We are making sure that whatever we do, we make sure that our product is sustainable and that we develop our product responsibly,” Annette Mark, CEO of the SVG Tourism Authority (SVGTA), said at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference.
She said the SVGTA wants to ensure that future generations can enjoy SVG.
“And so, as a result of that, we will never be an over-commercialised destination,” Mark said.
The SVGTA is trying to ensure that visitors to SVG have that
“authentic, unique, one-of-a-kind experience, that they will want to come back over and over, because when they’re there, they feel that they are at home, and they experience the warmness and the smiles of our people”.
Mark said SVG is managing its carbon footprint, and this is one of the reasons why the destination is not over-commercialised.
“So you will never come to St Vincent, and you will never see huge hotels of 1,000 keys and beaches that are littered with persons and nowhere to find a space. You will not find that in St Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Mark said SVG is very much into community tourism, and this is one of the reasons that it is upgrading and enhancing its tourism sites.
“Make sure that our tourism is not just about bringing people to the island, but it is also to the benefit of the communities, and that there’s always that trickle-down effect, there’s always that the communities are also benefiting economically and socially.”
Mark noted that SVG is a multi-island destination but pointed out that inter-island connectivity is seamless.
She told the media that there is an international airport in St. Vincent, a jet port in Canouan and airports in Bequia, Mustique and Union Island.
“… 15 minutes at the top to get to any island that you want to get to, plus, there’s a very reliable ferry service between each island,” she said.
She said that SVG is an emerging destination and people are responding to its uniqueness.
“They’re responding to us being that new kid on the block, that destination that is offering what is so much more different.”
She said arrivals from the United States have grown 58.7% year-on-year, based on CTO statistics.
Virgin Atlantic continues to support the destination with flights from the UK three days a week.
“… for the first time in the history of St. Vincent the Grenadines, we actually were able to breach that mark of over 100,000 stay-over visitors to the island.”
Mark said this achievement was also supported by daily flights from the United States by American Airlines and JetBlue, and twice-weekly flights from Canada.
Delta will begin servicing the destination soon, with daily flights from Atlanta, thereby opening up the markets to the Midwest and the South of the US.
This year, the SVGTA hopes to welcome 120,000 stay-over visitors to the destination, and has seen a 17.3% increase so far.
Mark said there has been an uptick in cruise passenger arrivals, with a 7% increase in 2024, with even more calls expected this year.
“So even though we are seeing smaller ships, we really don’t mind because some of these ships … coming to St Vincent and the Grenadines, are very high-end luxury ships, with very high-end passengers, very much in keeping with our own product in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as being a high-end luxurious destination,” Mark said.
She said the government will sign an agreement on Monday week with Sandals for a 360-key Beaches Resort, the second Sandals property in the country.
A Marriott hotel should also break ground before the end of the year, adding 250 keys to the room stock, Mark said, noting that SVG also has a Holiday Inn Express & Suites.
“While we’re a luxury destination, we do cater for everyone between Holiday Inn and our boutique hotels on mainland St. Vincent.”
Mark contrasted the rugged volcanic St. Vincent with its black sand beaches and stunning sunsets to the white sand beaches of the Grenadines.
“I mean, I just want you to close your eyes for a moment and just picture it in your mind how amazing each island is,” Mark said as a slide with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves wearing a virtual reality headset, a photo of Sandals Buccament Bay and a woman on a zipline was displayed on the screen behind her.
To me, Ralph Gonsalves represents white supremacist rule. No matter what he says, the fact remains that he is permanently in charge. He wants to continue his parasitic relationship with the people, and all his lackeys are advocating for the same thing
“we will never be an over-commercialised destination” only because we will never be a popular holiday destination compared to our closest neighbours, namely St. Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada.
The tourism sites needs proper bathroom facilities.is table rock considered a tourism site?