St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association

The SLHTA up close
As the main tourism private sector agency, the SLHTA is responsible for facilitating tourism sector development and management in St. Lucia. The SLHTA is a private non-profit membership organization that functions as the “official organization and national spokesperson for the hospitality industry and its wide membership”. The SLHTA has a grouping of two hundred and ten (210) members covering a wide segment of the economic spectrum of St. Lucia to include the tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors. The SLHTA is dedicated to representing, informing, educating and upholding the interests of its membership in the tourism industry, which has earned it the reputation as the “Voice of the Hospitality Industry”.

What Are we?
The SLHTA represents its membership’s collective contribution to St. Lucia’s Tourism by integrating the diverse talents, knowledge and expertise of its membership. The SLHTA is governed by an Executive Management committee and a Membership Council comprising hardworking volunteers. This structure is strengthened by a Secretariat, headed by an Executive Vice President and focuses on these main activities:

Association Management
focuses on creating, delivering and communicating benefits to members, also on the expansion of membership base.

Tourism Promotion: A large responsibility of the Association is destination marketing. Since tourism contributes significantly to our economic growth, the Association in collaboration with the St. Lucia Tourist Board and Ministry of Tourism works arduously to ensure the sustainability of St. Lucia,s Tourism product. The SLHTA also promotes the importance of tourism to St. Lucia through a series of public awareness programmes.

Advocacy
The SLHTA represent the interest and concerns of its members at the level of government. It uses its “collective voice” to influence policy and lobby members of parliament on tourism related matters.

Product Development
Focuses on education to improve the quality of service and lives of St. Lucian. In addition the SLHTA is integrally involved in the improvement of the total quality of the tourism product; infrastructure and community.

Our Mission Statement
“To maintain an effective and financially viable Association geared to delivering membership satisfaction and benefits, by serving as an active lobby and a medium for implementing programmes of action to facilitate the promotion, security, profitability and sustainable growth of the tourism industry.”

WHAT ARE OUR GOALS?

To provide an optimal networking and trading environment for our members
To become a source of accurate, relevant and timely information for members and other stakeholders
To expand the scope and size of our membership
To establish closer and effective collaboration with other private and public sector organizations
To become the main lobbying representative for sectoral interests within the Tourism Industry
To generate greater business, political and community support for tourism
To create and sustain a viable, financially independent and stable association

WHO ARE OUR MEMBERS
Members include large and small hotels; restaurants; airlines; tour companies; travel agents; car rental companies; banks; security services; sporting companies; statutory boards; public utilities; taxi services; manufacturers and suppliers of other goods and services.

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

Active Hotel: Any individual, partnership, or cooperation managing or engaged in the operation of a hotel.
Allied Member: Any individual, partnership, or cooperation providing a service to the hotels or associated with the tourism industry but not operating a hotel
Sustaining member: Any person, firm, or cooperation whose hotel property is under construction and not fully operational.
Affiliate Member: Any recognized association of members
Honorary member: Any individual who has rendered distinguished services to the SLHTA or to the hospitality industry in the Caribbean.