The good news from Club St. Lucia is that the watersports operations have been privatized and have been given to Water Sports World, a locally owned company who had been operating out of Rodney Bay. The company will be providing a complete line of water-based services including water skiing, glassbottom boat tours, snorkeling, sailing boats and coastal tours. This is another excellent example of a St. Lucian owned company willing to make the necessary level of investment and demonstrating the capability and professionalism to secure a contract with a major hotel. We at the Association look forward to the day when water-based businesses throughout the tourist industry will be St. Lucian owned and operated. The Association is quite concerned about the number of yachts arriving in the Soufriere area.
Statistics demonstrate a dramatic decline over past years.
This is happening despite efforts such as the recent Martinique mission when local stakeholders met with the major charter companies in an effort to improve business. We at the SWTA continue to be worried about the absence of a representative from the Soufriere area on the Watercraft Licensing Committee. We do not understand the rationale which excludes a representative from the SWTA but includes expatriates on the committee. Our concern is shared by our sister organization, the St. Lucia Day Boat Charter Association, that has submitted written requests on our behalf to the Ministry of Tourism. I'm happy to report that one new water taxi, a 16 foot Boston Whaler, and two Boat Captains have joined the Association in the past month.