St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Minister of Culture outlines her country’s remarkable plan for developing tourism

Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc Board members Rejil Solis, president; Marcia Gomez, vice president, and Jose Francisco Avila, right, executive director St Vincent and the SVG Minister of Culture Rene Baptiste, second right, at the Vincy Homecoming 2009 launch.

In a packed day of thought-provoking and outstanding presentations on the development of cultural tourism, one person stood out. Apart from giving an insight into the challenges of tourism development in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Minister of Culture of that collection of tiny islands and cays produced a forthright, clear-headed and highly intelligent plan that left the audience in awe. Indeed, the Honourable Rene Baptiste drew heartfelt praise and the only standing ovation of the day for her imaginative lesson on the theme of “Festivals, Brands and Sustainable Tourism”.
As a nation that has traditionally depended on agriculture and tourism for most of its income, SVG, like many of the OECS, has found itself facing the collapse of the banana industry and has been forced to look at new ways of making what’s available-and what’s sustainable-work for its development. The Minister noted that the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day— “Celebrating Diversity”—fits neatly into the model her country is building, which relies heavily on its cultural heritage to take it into the future. “Sometimes,”she said, “we don’t see what we have.” She went on to outline that in cultural terms, what SVG has are its people: originating from Africa, Asia and Europe, they have created a rich Caribbean culture, and are the country’s most valuable resource.
The Minister said a report conducted in 2003-2004 showed, among other things, that there were branding issues in getting SVG’s tourism product sold abroad (in both the region as well as North America and Europe). “What could we sell?”they asked themselves, “Everyone has white-sand beaches, what do we have that’s unique?”In order to find out, they had to wade through another type of culture-one of “distrust, mistrust and hostility”-in order to develop a coherent policy and get the general public’s participation and approval. The Minister admitted that one of the most difficult barriers to this was the public sector, which she called an “army of occupation”. A government is in office for five years at a time, she said, but the public sector is “there for a lifetime.” However, it is clear Ms Baptiste is not one to be cowed by any such obstacles, and she spearheaded a series of cultural seminars throughout the country. “Let the people tell me; let the people guide me”was her slogan.
The main findings from these meetings were that people wanted more training in their various cultural endeavours, and that artists wanted to be included in overseas tourism delegations. This led both to the involvement of steelbands, soca artist Kevin Lyttle and calypsonian Princess Monique in promoting SVG, and also to a great effort to develop the cultural capital of the country by focusing on training for young people. Ms Baptiste said the Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, sought scholarships from “everyone he knew” in dance, music and visual arts, including scholarships to Cuba and Venezuela. “We have to pick and choose our friends,” she said, for anyone who may have missed the significance of doing business with two of the region’s socialist countries.
The participation of these newly trained young people was guaranteed by another part of the plan—to create festivals, one a month, and to enhance existing festivals. St Vincent already had many annual events, including Basil’s Jazz Festival in Mustique, Union Island’s African drum festival, their summer carnival (branded as “Vincy Mas”), and the Nine Mornings Christmas celebrations. They created several more, including a performing arts event that gets huge participation from young people, and a gospel festival which has grown steadily since its birth in 2003. Nine Mornings is one of the traditional events that have benefited from a policy to invigorate existing festivals—Ms Baptiste commented that the “carnival arts have been brought into Christmas to enhance it as an event” by creating performances on the theme of the Christmas story.
She also spoke of the ways in which all aspects of the festivals are linked to ensure better exposure of SVG. The Internet is important to promotion (whether via the Ministry of Tourism’s website, YouTube or other forms of digital promotion), as is actively seeking press coverage for events. For example, she said that the Ministry invited US cable channel A&E to film Vincy Mas and so take it to a greater audience; similarly, when a cache of 2,000-year-old Amerindian bones was discovered, the History Channel and National Geographic were invited to document the find, with the proviso, says Ms Baptiste, “that they must train some of our people.” The government also sent young people to study in art- and museum-rich Mexico, so that when the restoration of an old colonial building is complete and a museum created to house these important artefacts, local people will have the skills to preserve and manage the collection and run the museum. Of course this is also going to be of interest to people who come to SVG to pursue more traditional forms of tourism such as yachting regattas, golf, hiking or festivals, so it all ties together.
The plan is, therefore, to “create a cadre of cultural practitioners” and give the support to nourish them so that the cultural value continues to grow.
It’s also important, says the Minister of Culture, to promote investment in SVG and to seek a variety of forms of funding. They are using funds from a European Union grant, which she said wryly, is “backpay”to fund some of their projects, as it is important that development occurs in a strategic and holistic way, and adds some aspects that are more visitor-friendly. The world famous St Vincent Botanical Gardens, for example, would benefit from professional guided tours and an interpretation centre and this, she said, has been planned.
Another crucial factor is sustainability, said Ms Baptiste. “We are a small country and there is already evidence of climate change…We also need to protect our marshes, protect our forests. Do we let foreign investment build their villas on the top of the hill?” She suggests there are other ways, including one that is close to her heart, and it comes back to culture. One of the most interesting cultural cross-fertilizations, said Ms Baptiste, has been the re-connection with the Garifuna people, now spread along coastal areas of Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua, to their former homeland in St Vincent (“Yurumein” to them). At the end of the so-called Carib Wars in the 18th century, the British government exiled their forebears to the island of Roatán off the coast of Honduras, but now, through the revival of this connection, Garifuna people from Central America and even in the US have made what Baptiste describes as spiritual and emotional journeys to their motherland. This, too, is tourism. And there is more, including the preservation of SVG’s architectural gems, such as Kingstown’s splendid cathedrals; the continued development of community tourism; the manufacture of natural local products for the growing spa market and traditional herbal remedies.
There is “no banana industry again,” said Minister Rene Baptiste, “but because of that we have stopped spraying insecticides in those areas, and the butterflies have returned.” This seems a good way to sum up what the Minister presented as the way forward for St Vincent and the Grenadines tourism.