Government & Opposition generally agree on SVG’s Tourism direction – 2025 Budget

From left: Senior Opposition Member of Parliament St. Clair Leacock, Minister of Tourism Carlos James, and Leader of the Opposition Dr. Godwin Friday.

By Admin. Updated 8:33 a.m., Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

After evaluating the debate on the EC 1.85 billion 2025 Appropriations Bill—commonly referred to as the budget—some observers have concluded that the government and the opposition appear to agree, generally, on the country’s tourism direction.

Both the Leader of the Opposition Dr. Godwin Friday and a senior opposition Member of Parliament, St. Clair Leacock, expressed agreement regarding the direction in which the country is heading in terms of tourism. However, in all other sectors, the opposition and the government appear to be at loggerheads.

While contributing to the 2025 Budget debate, Leader of the Opposition Dr. Godwin Friday stated that there is a post-pandemic boom and that figures for cruise arrivals, yachting, and overall visitor numbers are increasing. He added that the current yachting boom reminded him of the situation during 2004.

Although he acknowledged that tourism is rebounding, he also highlighted several areas needing improvement, including tourism sites and enhanced security.

St. Clair Leacock, Member of Parliament for Central Kingstown, also chimed in on the tourism boom.

“It encourages me what is taking place in tourism; I am encouraged by the great progress,” Mr. Leacock said.

Last year, Sandals Resort and Holiday Inn Express and Suites opened in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), and four new airlines commenced service to the destination: JetBlue, WinAir, LIAT 2020, and Sunrise Airways.

Existing airlines that provide service to St. Vincent’s Argyle International Airport also increased the number of flights to the destination. These include American Airlines, which now offers flight service from three U.S. cities: Charlotte, North Carolina; JFK in New York; and Miami, Florida.

Carlos James, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Sustainable Development, and Culture, also announced that for the first time in the country’s history, there were more than 101,474 overnight visitors to the destination based on provisional figures.

In recent times, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), also captured the “Best Nature Destination” title at the 2024 World Tourism Awards.