It's now easier for clients to get married in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
For any clients looking to tie the knot during a destination wedding in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the newly simplified process is now as easy as saying “I do.”
During a destination briefing in Turks and Caicos for the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference, Carlos James, Minister of Tourism for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, noted that visitors can now register for a marriage certificate online.
“A very long time ago St. Vincent was known as a premiere destination for weddings so we’re really looking at relaunching our destination wedding portfolio,” he said. “We have created a system which allows persons to apply for a wedding license before arriving on the island, by the time you get to the island, it’s ready.”
As for getting there, Air Canada will offer up to four weekly flights during the peak season to Argyle International Airport — up from three last season. Non-stop flights resume on Oct. 30 with three flights per week.
“We’re really excited about the additional flights from Canada,” he said.
Within the next few years, James said some 1,000 new rooms will be added to the destination’s room inventory, including the 301-room Sandals Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, slated to open on March 27, 2024; a 93-room Holiday Inn Express and a 250-room Marriott. While growth is underway, he said sustainable tourism remains a priority.
“There is really a lot of transformation for tourism in St. Vincent and the Grenadines — it’s an emerging destination but also we’re not moving to mass tourism,” he shared. “We pride ourselves deeply in developing our tourism product sustainably… You will not hear of St. Vincent and the Grenadines being a destination where you have a 1,000-room hotel.”
Following a double whammy of a global pandemic and the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, James said “we’ve now reached our pre-pandemic numbers in terms of recovery.”
After Turks and Caicos, James headed to Canada for a Canadian road show. After meeting with travel advisors, he said travel professionals were “buzzing” about having a lesser known destination to sell.
“The travel agents are quite excited about it, they said we’re taking clients all over Mexico, the Dominican Republic, they need something new, they need something fresh and they need something exciting,” he added.
New for travel advisors, SVG is now recognizing top performing agents with an incentive awards program. Shelley John, Director of Sales – Canada for the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority, said these bookings will be tracked through the DiscoverSVG Pro site.
“I’m perhaps one of the only ministers of tourism in the Caribbean who will say we’re not in the business of mass tourism. It may sound strange — do we want more people to come? Yes, but it’s really about sustainable tourism,” James noted. “And what we’re building out is a special part of that. We’re going to share the value, the experience of what the culture and heritage of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is, along with what we have in terms of natural beauty.”
