Saint Lucia Poised for Growth as Canadian Advisors Celebrate at Global Piton Awards

Canadian advisors were honoured in Saint Lucia Tuesday night, as the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA) recognized the top performers of the year at the annual Global Piton Awards.

The awards celebrate the top-producing Saint Lucia Expert Travel Advisors from the Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Caribbean and were held at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian.

Taking home awards were Canadians Lisa Tetzlaff of Southbound Travel, Wilhelmina “Wili” Green of Blowes & Stewart Travel Group, Karen Lippett of Latitutes Plus – Smart Travel and Kim Hartlen Travel –Trevello.

“All of you who here this evening are going to be receiving recognition as your passion and consistency and excellence has helped to shape Saint Lucia’s tourism success,” SLTA CEO Louis Lewis told the crowd.

“Every visitor contributes towards the economic development of Saint Lucia, and we cannot underscore the importance of that. “This is the lifeblood of Saint Lucia, and we want to see that trend continue. And we cannot go without recognizing your efforts in taking us to the point that we are.”

The island of 180,000 residents has seen significant growth in tourism with a 14% increase in stayover arrivals to over 435,000 and a 60% population equivalent in cruise passenger arrivals.  

“If we do the mathematics and we give an average of about five persons per household, that would be over 60,000 lives that you touch with your partnership and what you do with together with us in promoting our beautiful country,” said Parliamentary Secretary Guibion Ferdinand, who spoke on behalf of Minister of Tourism Investment the Hon Dr. Ernest Hillaire.

“It tells us that your contribution is immense, and our growth in this regard is rooted in our natural beauty and the culture and our global collaboration with you as our key partners. This is a bold transformation that we are experiencing in our industry now, and it is guided by a vision of inclusive and diversified as well as sustainability in the tourism industry.”

Looking ahead, the island has several projects under development including a historic $1.3 billion USD investment at Mount Pimard at Rodney Bay to turn the area into a multi-concept luxury destination. It will be home to what is being called the Caribbean’s first holistic wellness hotel, Life Co, a brand with properties in Turkey and Thailand.  The project will include a family-oriented resort, an adult-only retreat, private villas, residential units and retail spaces.

There are also events that highlight the island’s unique cultural and culinary offerings like the Jazz and Arts Festival happening April 30 to May 10, 2026.

Saint Lucia is also focusing below the sea, with what they’re calling underwater sculpture parks. The three-site development aims to develop artificial reefs with the goal to encourage reef exploration and help grow the natural eco system.

Balancing growth with the sustainability of the island is a delicate dance, and Ferdinand says both the government and the people of Saint Lucia believe that tourism must be inclusive and sustainable.

“I recently returned from a trip to the oceans conference in France, and when I listen to the discourse and the direction in which the world is going with regard to tourism, I was very proud to see that Saint Lucia is actually trending in that direction, and in some cases, we are way ahead,” said Ferdinand.  

“We have enacted the Tourism Development Act, which puts a strong focus on sustainable tourism and actually incentivizing businesses and tourism investments that show some level of sustainability in the establishment.”

“When I see some of the projects that are actually under construction and what’s to come, I think we are going to be even more dominant in wellness,” said Lewis.

“You can start to signal to your clients for 2027, 2028 and 2029 that Saint Lucia will be that place where you get that natural experience for regeneration and reinvigoration.”