Saint Lucia has seen a steady growth in tourism over the past five decades since embracing the sector in the early 1970s. The island’s natural beauty, key geographical location, friendly people and historical background all converge to entice and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to Saint Lucia each year.

Over the years, Saint Lucia has won many global tourism awards for its attributes. One of its most recent accolades was capturing the title for Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination at the 28th Annual World Travel Awards in October 2021. This year’s win represents the island’s eighth consecutive title as Caribbean Leading Honeymoon Destination and twelfth overall. 

Saint Lucia is also the twelve-time winner of the World Leading Honeymoon Destination by World Travel Awards.

According to Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Saint Lucia’s Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, the latest accolade speaks to the island’s ability to excel even in the face of challenging odds. 

“Romance continues to be the essence in brand Saint Lucia, a significant niche market for our world-renowned island destination,” Dr. Hilaire said. “This award, particularly in this era, reflects the resilience and perseverance of our people and the results of the hard work of all our tourism stakeholders. This truly is an award for the people of Saint Lucia.” 

The latest global award for Saint Lucia comes as tourism officials met to strategically position the destination and place special highlight on its immersive offerings at the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Conference, hosted in Panama City, Panama, from October 18-21, 2021. 

The high-level conference allowed tourism industry leaders to network, share ideas, examine best practices, and establish business initiatives with top level cruise executives. The island’s tourism minister led a delegation to that conference.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the world over the importance of the cruise industry to the continued development of tourism dependent economies,” he stated. “The objective at this year’s FCCA conference is to present brand Saint Lucia’s all-encompassing package, showcasing all vital linkage industries that support the cruise sector.” 

Due to a halt of operations for more than a year amid the global pandemic, cruise calls to Saint Lucia resumed on July 29, 2021, with arrivals reflecting steady growth. Projections into 2022 suggest that the destination is positioned to receive over 375 cruise calls with an optimistic projection of over 250,000 visitor arrivals.

While at the Panama conference, the Saint Lucia delegation seized the opportunity to update global cruise industry partners on plans for welcoming and increasing cruise arrivals during the COVID-19 recovery period, expanding the island’s enchanting product offerings, future developments, and creating a vibrant environment that would allow Saint Lucians to maximize the benefits of cruise tourism.

With nearly 15,000 people employed directly in the local tourism sector, and an estimated 55,000 people employed indirectly, tourism undoubtedly continues to be the main driver of Saint Lucia’s economy. Tourism is now the island’s biggest industry and main source of employment, income and foreign exchange, accounting for 65% of the island’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Internal travel and tourism consumption for Saint Lucia has been steadily increasing over the past decade. Whereas the Caribbean island generated almost US$771 million from internal tourism consumption in 2010, this industry amounted to about US$1.129 billion nearly 10 years later.

These are just a few latest examples of how transformational the tourism sector in Saint Lucia has been over the years and continues create niches for investment and investors. As a citizen of Saint Lucia, you qualify to tap into the various opportunities the sector offers. From constructing your own hotel or Airbnb to running a tour company, you will find that Saint Lucia offers an excellent return on investment.

Introduced in 2015, the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Programme offers foreign nationals from across the globe the opportunity to live, work and invest on the island. However, citizenship is also offered to foreign nationals who make a direct investment into the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Programme via any of the following routes:

1. The Government Bond Investment. This option requires:

• A minimum investment of US$500,000.00 and must be held for five years. 
• If the applicant’s spouse is also participating in the programme, the combined investment for both spouses will be US$535,000.00. 
• Two spouses and two dependents participating in the programme requires an investment of US$550,000.00, while any additional dependent will each cost the applicant US$25,000.00.
  

Once your application for citizenship and been approved, the investment must be made. These bonds are non-interest bearing, and must be registered and remain in the applicant’s name for a five-year holding period from the date of first issue.

2. The COVID-19 Bond Relief. A minimum investment of US$250,000.00 must be made, lasts until December 31, 2021, having been extended by another year last December. The terms are as follows:

• Single applicant: A minimum US$250,000.00 -- (five-year holding bond).
• Applicant plus 1 qualifying dependent: US$250,000.00 -- (six-year holding bond). 
• Applicant plus up to 4 qualifying dependents: US$250,000.00 -- (seven-year holding bond).
• Applicant plus up to 4 qualifying dependents: US$300,000.00 -- (five-year holding bond).
• Each additional qualifying dependent (subsequent to applicant plus 4 qualifying dependents): US$15,000.00 each.

3. The COVID-19 Bond Relief. This option is especially attractive for families, is low-risk, and offers a more favourable long-term value proposition.  

4. The Real Estate Investment. A minimum investment of US$300,000.00 is required. 

5. The Enterprise Investment. A minimum investment of US$3,500,000.00 is required.

At McNamara Citizenship Services Inc., we offer a full-service advisory agency that provides all the relevant services associated with your acquiring citizenship in Saint Lucia. We are an approved authorized agent under the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Programme and use our intimate knowledge of the programme to guide you through the process of obtaining your citizenship.

As the largest law firm in Saint Lucia, we take great pride in our hallmarks of excellence and professionalism. From the initial application stage to you becoming a citizen of Saint Lucia, we keep you informed throughout the process. 

Our portfolio includes a long list of satisfied clients whom we have represented successfully on their path to acquiring dual citizenship in Saint Lucia and we highly recommend that you select the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Programme.

For more information on how McNamara Citizenship Services can help you along the path to becoming a national of Saint Lucia, contact us today. We done it for many satisfied clients, and we can do it for you.