By Val Matthias. Updated 7:33 p.m., Thursday, May 14, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Chief Operating Officer of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority, Shawn Sutherland, has reported record visitor arrivals and outlined new initiatives as he addressed the launch of the “Love SVG” campaign.
Mr Sutherland said tourism continues to play a critical role in the country’s economic development, noting that despite global challenges, St Vincent and the Grenadines has seen renewed investor confidence and increasing international interest. He revealed that in 2025 the destination recorded more than 120,000 stayover arrivals, the highest on record, and for the first quarter of 2026 arrivals increased by around 10 percent each month in January, February and March. He described this as an upward trajectory that is expected to continue throughout the year.
The COO emphasised that airlift and accessibility remain central priorities, with discussions ongoing to strengthen routes, increase flight frequency and improve overall access to the destination. He said private sector confidence is reflected in new tourism investments, which are expected to expand room capacity, support occupancy growth, create employment and stimulate economic activity across both mainland St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Mr Sutherland highlighted several partnerships designed to strengthen destination visibility, including Spirit of St Vincent and the Grenadines with InterCaribbean Airlines, From Track to Tropics with Vincentian NASCAR driver Rajah Crute and Tempo Networks, I Love SVG to promote national pride, GoGrenadines to showcase experiences across the Grenadine islands, and OneFest Caribbean to integrate entertainment and cultural lifestyle into the tourism product. He also pointed to the global reach generated by digital creators and streaming platforms such as IShowSpeed, Below Deck, and David Hoffman’s YouTube channel, which have introduced younger audiences to St Vincent and the Grenadines.
He said the Authority is transitioning to a performance‑driven operational structure, focusing on accountability, data intelligence, digital systems and measurable outcomes. Plans include strengthening the destination’s brand identity through targeted marketing campaigns, influencer partnerships, diaspora engagement and expanded travel trade relationships. Improving visitor experience remains a priority, with emphasis on customer service, community tourism, yachting and marine tourism, cultural and heritage experiences, and destination cleanliness.
Mr Sutherland acknowledged challenges such as regional connectivity, climate resilience, infrastructure development, workforce readiness and sustainability, but said corrective actions are being pursued to strengthen standards, training and collaboration between the public and private sectors. He concluded: “Our vision remains clear. We are committed to building a tourism industry that is sustainable, competitive, modern and inclusive one that creates meaningful opportunities for Vincentians while preserving authenticity, culture and natural beauty.”
END
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William H Harriss
William H Harriss
How do you expect to attract investors when people like me have to resort to posting on the media about the atrocious, racist treatment I am dealing with? To try to get some closure in the matter of the police running around with ill-got search warrants and stealing my property and ignoring me when I ask for it back. A new government comes in, and instead of fixing the past anomalies, they support the police and help them evade the proper actions in law that they deserve. But in doing so, the new government are supporting the filth administered by the previous government, and the hundreds of complaints and allegations of wrongdoing go unchecked and uncorrected. It ultimately makes the new NDP government as dirty as the old ULP government. Do you really expect people to invest in, or buy citizenship in SVG, when they are liable to be punished at some time in the future for doing so? I am left with the only alternative: to start a campaign that plastered my plight across social media far and wide, from the state, region, and world. The only thing I have is plenty of time to do just that. So, from the first of June, if my problem remains ignored and unresolved, I am employing two young people to mass-post whatever I write daily. Sorry, I did not want confrontation; I just wanted justice, and I have been denied that. I will be bombarding the world with anti SVG Police and Government propaganda. This is really a ULP-generated problem that the NDP refuse to recognise or deal with. I am really surprised at PM The Hon. Dr. Godwin Friday because I wrote to him on the matter in 2022. I will be publishing that letter at some juncture.
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Expect that to change to zero visitors. BETWEEN RISING SEAS AND SARGASSUM INVASION By William H Harriss. May 6th, 2026. I am aware that readers will hate what I am about to discuss here about the bleak future for the seaside, resorts, and beach sections of the tourist and lodging industry. The authorities and news outlets are hiding the truth to avoid panic and the collapse of the seaside property market and tourism. Some of you will remember when I wrote about the rising seas and what that means for the leisure industry’s future. In January 2026, I wrote a piece titled CARIBBEAN HOTELS FOR MERMAIDS, which you should read again. Then, in February 2026, I wrote a follow-up bringing more information titled THE GREAT LIE. Both of these articles were about rising sea levels due to melting ice caps. I am going to warn you all once again about sea level rise. Because those of you who were hoping it would go away or that things would get better naturally. Sorry, but the latest scientific news is that it is accelerating and will continue to do so for hundreds of years hence. Rapidly melting ice shelves in Antarctica could trigger global sea levels to rise even faster than expected, scientists have warned. Antarctica’s vast floating ice shelves surround about 75 per cent of the continent’s coastline and act like a vast buttress, holding back the flow of inland glaciers. However, Norwegian researchers have discovered that deep channel–like grooves beneath the ice are trapping swirling eddies of relatively warm ocean water. That warm water melts ice beneath the surface 10 times faster than normal, threatening the structural integrity of the entire ice shelves. Lead author Dr Qin Zhou, senior scientist for Norwegian research organisation Akvaplan–niva, told the Daily Mail: ‘These ice shelves may be more vulnerable to ocean warming than previously assumed.’ If the Antarctic shelves were significantly weakened or even started to collapse, it would release the gigatonnes of ice currently being held back in the ice sheet. The ice sheet currently holds enough fresh water to raise sea levels by a staggering 58 meters (190 feet), threatening millions of people with flooding. While the researchers don’t think the entire ice sheet will melt, they warn that sea levels are likely to be a lot higher than previous climate models have predicted. A report from NASA also says sea level rise is accelerating. Recent findings indicate that the rate of global sea level rise has doubled over the past 30 years, with the average increase being about 0.18 inches (4.5 millimetres) per year in 2023. This acceleration is primarily due to ocean warming and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, which contribute to thermal expansion and increased water volume in the oceans. The United Nations has described this as an urgent and escalating threat, with projections suggesting that global mean sea levels could rise significantly in the coming decades. According to NOAA, with continued ocean and atmospheric warming, sea levels will likely rise for many centuries at rates much higher than that of the current century. In the United States, almost 40 per cent of the population lives in relatively high-population-density coastal areas, where sea level plays a role in flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms. Globally, eight of the world’s 10 largest cities are near a coast, according to the UN. Atlas of the Oceans. All of those are in grave danger of being lost to the sea. Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has increased in recent decades. In 2014, global sea level was 2.6 inches 67 mm above the 1993 average—the highest annual average in the satellite record (1993-present). Higher sea levels mean that deadly and destructive storm surges push farther inland than they once did, which also means more frequent nuisance flooding initially. Disruptive and expensive, nuisance flooding is estimated to be from 300 per cent to 900 per cent more frequent within US coastal communities than it was just 50 years ago. The basic facts are that all land at sea level, or just above sea level, will become inundated by the sea and lost forever during the next ten years. So, all these lovely residential developments taking place on coastal plains will be underwater sooner than expected. Because the sea rise is accelerating year on year. Many beachfront hotels and resorts will be lost unless they are able to build great deep-rooted dykes around the whole property. But that kind of operation is so expensive that it will be better to abandon those at-risk properties when the time comes. What that probably also means is that seaside properties will start to be of diminishing value year on year over the next ten years. Until that is, the sea owns them. Planning authorities should stop approving buildings on low-level lands. Hotels and resorts should stop building on low-level land and plan longer term. Many cities worldwide are going to be lost to sea inundation, and for many of you, it will be during your lifetime. When you add these problems to the sargassum problem, it is all going to end in tragedy for the leisure industry. Sargassum is increasing in arrival in the Caribbean by about 50% each year. But due to a lack of international agencies’ input and government failure to act promptly, and their current lack of real interest in stemming the problem, that percentage will probably increase. The danger is that the world’s seas and beaches will be lost to sargassum. So, with rising seas and sargassum invasion, there are few prospects for the industry’s future. The sargassum problem is a serious international issue that has been exacerbated by climate change, nutrient runoff, a change in sea currents, and shifts in wind patterns. In May 2025, a record-breaking 37.5 million metric tons of sargassum were recorded in the Atlantic, threatening marine life, coastal economies, and public health across the Caribbean. This surge marks a ~70% increase since monitoring began in 2011, and it is causing significant damage to biodiversity, human health, and the livelihoods of coastal communities. The impacts are multisectoral, affecting fishing, tourism, and even causing power outages and water shortages. The situation is urgent, and they say there is a call for international collaboration to find sustainable solutions. But I see very little sign of that; there seems to be no real urgency to this, which is one of the world’s biggest threats ever recorded. In the Caribbean and the Americas, the arrivals of sargassum in 2011 were about 7.5 million tons. In 2025, they were said to be 32 million tons. This year, it is estimated that 60 million tons will arrive, and next year, 2027, it is forecast that 100 million tons plus will arrive. So, year on year it is increasing, and it is no longer seasonal; it will be a year-round problem, not just in the Caribbean, it is now being found in most of the seas and oceans. So, folks start planning now. I do have an answer to control the sargassum. But I have stopped trying to help with that because none of the agencies or the government seems very interested, and it was starting to stress me out. But I am very old, and the destruction of our seas and oceans is their responsibility, not mine. I have now given up trying to help. I have absolutely no answer for the rising seas; no one has. That is coming regardless. Best of luck, folks. Some of you will most certainly need it, and much sooner than you thought. William
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