Cruise liners back in St Lucia – return of tourism

Akasha St Lucia luxury villa rental is pleased that cruise liners have sailed back into St Lucia to support the communities that were affected by Hurricane Tomas two weekends ago.

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and its member lines quickly restored cruise business in the wake of the hurricane and have also shipped in humanitarian assistance for affected residents. “The quick action by the cruise lines was of enormous help for us and underscored the huge value of tourism to our recovery efforts,” Prime Minister Stephenson King, thanking the Florida-based trade organization for its support of his country’s cruise industry.

Most of St Lucia’s attractions have reopened and, on Sunday, both Holland America’s Noordam and P & O Oceana brought thousands of passengers who were able to experience some of them. They also brought 200 tonnes of water along with clothing, food, furniture, mattresses, sheets and blankets which were distributed to needy communities by the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and the St Lucia Red Cross.

Akasha villa rental is also pleased that the air industry is also doing its bit, tourism got a boost over the weekend with the arrival of JetBlue Airways, American Airlines/American Eagle, Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, British Airways, among other carriers. They are bringing in many tourist to boost St Lucia’s economy which it badly meeds given the damage to the banana crop. The international and regional carriers landed at both the Hewanorra International Airport and George F.L. Charles Airport. So both airports are now open and functioning.

“Tourism is our lifeblood, and we are grateful to our regional and international partners for the confidence they have placed in St Lucia. By returning so quickly, they are assisting the nation recover in the aftermath of the storm,” asserted Minister of Tourism, Senator Allen Chastanet.

St Lucia needs the tourists even more than before and we at Akasha St Lucia’s most exclusive villa rental will be doing our best to help our fellow St Lucians and encouraging even more tourists to come to this beautiful island.