St Lucia Food & Rum Festival promises more

Describing last year's festival as a work-in-progress, she explained that she is now equipped with practical experience, having a clear vision of the execution plan of this year's event in order to surpass last year's success.

Organisers of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association's (SLHTA) Food and Rum Festival, held for the first time last October, are already predicting a bigger and better event this year.

Neysha Soodeen, managing director of Toute Bagai Publishing of Trinidad and Tobago - publishers of the 'MACO' series of international magazines - will again coordinate the event.

On a recent visit to St. Lucia, Ms. Soodeen said she was expecting a higher level of participation from hoteliers, chefs and restaurateurs from across the Caribbean as well as internationally owing to the amount of media attention garnered from the 2006 event.

Describing last year's festival as a work-in-progress, she explained that she is now equipped with practical experience, having a clear vision of the execution plan of this year's event in order to surpass last year's success. "Now we are in a position to hire a proper production company to undertake the potential of this event. Last year we incurred quite a substantial debt, which was borne by MACO, but this was expected and is seen as an investment into St. Lucia."

the natural beauty of the island

The MACO executive said she believes that the natural beauty of the island and the friendly disposition of its people enhance the developmental potential of the island. She described St. Lucia as having the potential of Barbados in terms of its tourism and economic development. "There are already some great villa and resort projects in St. Lucia and these developments will make St. Lucia a Caribbean destination to be reckoned with," she said

She explained that the Food and Rum Festival was geared specifically at catering to the new influx in tourism investment, whether hotel or villa tourism. "I think it will also benefit St. Lucians to expand their horizons on Caribbean gastronomy," she said.

This year's event will take place from November 1 to 4.