World Tourism Day, observed on Sep. 27, was officially launched on Sep. 7 by the Government of Saint Lucia with a panel discussion featuring officials from the Ministry of Tourism.

During the proceedings, the Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, Hon. Dr. Ernest Hilaire, brought attention to two tourism awards bestowed upon Saint Lucia earlier this year—the pinnacle being the coveted title of Caribbean's Leading Nature Destination. Referencing the accolades, the minister spoke to the growth of the industry and Saint Lucia’s focus on environmental preservation.

“I have on the table with me two World Travel Awards—one of them names Saint Lucia as the Caribbean’s Leading Destination for Nature and the other names Saint Lucia as the Caribbean’s Leading Destination for Adventure. These two awards immediately tells you of the connection that Saint Lucia has to the environment and to sustainable development so when one speaks of “green investments” is a call to ensure that while the tourism sector expands, the investments leading expansion recognize the impact on the environment and the need to ensure that tourism is sustainable.”

CEO of the Community Tourism Agency, Ms. Dahlia Guard, referred to the constant communication that occurs between the agency and the community.

“We conduct engagement activities within the communities as it pertains to consultations because community tourism is really from the bottom up. So we engage communities, find out what they’re interested in, and involve them in the decision making process. That's how they participate in general,” she explained.

In an effort to publicize the industry’s drive to utilize more clean energy, the Ministry of Tourism also released a calendar that lists activities to take place during the week Sep. 24 to the 30. Activities include a church service, Community Tourism Day – an official observance to be held within the constituency of Micoud, a Tourism Policy Round Table, a culinary showdown, and Blaze-in-Blue, where the public is encouraged to wear the official color for World Tourism Day—blue.

The theme for World Tourism Day 2023 is Tourism and Green Investments.