News

As part of activities for Business Month, the Department of Commerce, International Trade, Investment, Enterprise Development, and Consumer Affairs held the third annual Finance and Equity Symposium, earlier this week.

The symposium targeted business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who were enlightened on the various equity and financing options available to them, especially given the constraints faced by MSMEs in accessing needed capital.

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Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun is one of multiple leisure brands owned and operated by Apple Leisure Group

(PRESS RELEASE) – Apple Leisure Group® (ALG) subsidiary AMResorts® today announced that the company will bring two of its luxury, all inclusive resort brands to St. Lucia.

These contracts mark the company’s entry into the island, and expand Apple Leisure Group’s rapidly growing resort management portfolio to its ninth country.

With 16 properties in the development pipeline, ALG will have more than 60 open resorts across Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and Panama by 2019.

“The ALG family of...

CARICOM Heads of Government and Ministers of Foreign Affairs gathered in Belize on October 25^th for the IV CARICOM-Mexico Summit. The summit was co-chaired by CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada, and the President of Mexico, His Excellency Enrique Peña Nieto.

The summit explored avenues to strengthen relations between CARICOM and Mexico through dialogue and cooperation, and explored opportunities to build upon the work undertaken from the three previous summits. Both sides...

Saint Lucia’s tourism sector continues to enjoy robust performance, recording the second fastest growth in the region among member countries of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

Bermuda leads the member countries as at August with an 11.9 percent increase in stayover arrivals over 2016, followed by Saint Lucia at 9.2 percent. Saint Lucia also recorded the third highest percentage increase for the month of August at 11.4 percent, behind Belize at 19.1 percent, and Grenada at 16.9 percent.

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The commitment to sustainable growth and resilience of the Caribbean’s Blue Economy has been further strengthened with the signing of a US $6.3 million grant agreement for the Caribbean Regional Oceanscape Project (CROP).

The agreement, signed during the World Bank’s Annual Meetings at its headquarters in Washington DC by Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS Commission; and Ms. Tahseen Sayed Khan, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean, will support Eastern Caribbean countries to...

Bridgetown, BARBADOS, October 23, 2017.  The global market for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is currently valued at USD $1 trillion with cross-border outsourced services trade between countries estimated at US $88.9 billion per year in 2015. The Caribbean is carving out its niche within this global industry with the number of BPO operators and jobs growing exponentially.  One company that’s thrived since outsourcing to the Caribbean is the Dutch owned company Cimpress (Vistaprint). 

Vistaprint...

Marigot Bay

Saint Lucia has recorded strong and steady growth in its tourism sector for 2017. Year to date Saint Lucia has recorded an increase of 94,432 visitor arrivals, representing 14.5 percent growth over 2016. Stay over arrivals as of August 2017 are up 9 percent, and cruise arrivals are 21 percent above the previous year.

The cruise sector has continued to show very strong growth and this is expected to significantly increase when construction is competed on a new berth at the end of the year. This...

some of the items ready to be shipped to Dominica

Invest Saint Lucia (ISL) has joined other government agencies and private sector entities throughout the Caribbean, that have come to the aid of hurricane-ravaged Dominica.

That island was struck by Hurricane Maria – a category 5 storm – on September 18th. The storm, which left death and destruction in its wake, has set Dominica back at least two decades.

Over the last three weeks, a number of neighbouring islands including Saint Lucia, have provided immeasurable support to the island, sending in...

Bridgetown, BARBADOS. Over 100 industry leaders from the public and private sectors across the region are expected to converge in Jamaica this December to discuss how best to attract more business from international companies to the Caribbean in areas such as call centre operations, website and animation design, and legal and accounting services.

The first-ever Outsource to the Caribbean Conference (OCC) under the theme, “Leveraging the Nearshore Caribbean for Outsourcing Services”, will be held on...

Urgent investment into infrastructure that is more resilient to climate change is needed to allow Caribbean islands to achieve clean energy and sustainable development plans. This was the conclusion drawn from a high-level meeting of representatives from Caribbean Governments, development partners, and regional organizations, held in Saint Lucia.

In the wake of the devastation inflicted by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, delegates focused on rebuilding national infrastructures which will withstand...