Drum Magazine Issue 4 | Page 72

70 Drum: Q & A Yes, Minister! The Saint Lucian government is pushing for increased tourism Commerce, Investment and Consumer Affairs, the Right sustainable tourism. e wanted an opportunity to sit with the Minister and talk about some of the things that interest our readers and one of those is the development of sustainable tourism. We wanted to talk about some of the ways in which Drum could help to encourage more travel to the Caribbean and also have a presence in the area. W As a global publication connecting with people across the Diaspora, we know there are many Saint Lucians in England and across mainland Europe, and we want to encourage them to reconnect with the Caribbean. One of the benefits would be developing the skill base in the region to counteract the Caribbean brain drain. Part of our crusade at Drum is to encourage the return of more nationals to the region, either by way of investment or business, or simply to live and enjoy life. In fact what we often see is other foreign nationals coming to invest in the Caribbean who don’t always have the people’s best interests at heart. Before turning to tourism, I asked the Minister about his views on the changing youth culture of Saint Lucia and the ever-present effects of Uncle Sam.