Castries, Saint Lucia: Dr Ernest Hilaire- Minister of Tourism of Saint Lucia pledged to turn the 2024 Carnival into one of the largest events ever through additional activities and increased prize money. He asserted that the festival is the platform to showcase the true essence of the Caribbean nation.
Carnival 2024 is all set to return to Saint Lucia in July 2024 as this year will feature new events, the announcement of Carnival Queens, and more investments. Minister Hilaire asserted that the government of Saint Lucia is aware of the importance of the event due to which the investments would be made to make it bigger and grand.
He termed Lucian Carnival 2024 as “the part of the culture which defines who we are as people.” Speaking at this year’s Carnival launch, Ernest Hilaire expressed pleasure and appreciation for the preparation that has been contributing to making it the great event of all years.
He said that the Carnival is more than just a mass, more than just what happens on the road for a couple of days, it is a celebration of the self-recognition of who they are as a people.
Minister Hilaire added that Carnival plays a significant role in unlocking and unleashing the creativity of the people, the musicians, the artists, and the costume markers. All of that is a reflection of the creativity of the people, it is more than just days on the roads.
Dr Hilaire said that Carnival is a powerful economic agent, drawing over 18000 visitors to the island in the first two weeks of July in 2023.
“Making July the month of the most stay-over visitors for the year and it tells you the importance that Carnival has for our growth and our economic development. It brings substantial income to this country, think of all the various sectors that benefit from the cosmetologist, from the stylists, the fashion designer, the person who runs Airbnb, the restaurant owners, and the car rental companies. I can go down the line and tell you of the economic impact of Carnival in our country, therefore it is something we need to protect.”
While pledging to make it bigger, Minister Hilaire added that they intended to make the Carnival 2204 bigger than 2019 and there is a need for great collaboration on the national level to do so.
Further, Saint Lucia government announced that the jazz in the city will now be a five-day event of the Carnival 2024 and Minister Hilaire mentioned that this will provide a great opportunity for Castries to enhance the market for the local products.