Hospitality establishments urged to prepare for 2025/26 tourist season

With the expected increase in airlift with the addition of the Delta airlines direct flight to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), President of the Hotel and Tourism Association (SVGHTA), Isola Giddens, has made a call for stakeholders to ensure they are prepared for the upcoming season, and staff are properly equipped to deliver service that is of an international standard.

Her comments were made at a press briefing held by the Minister of Tourism, Carlos James on Friday, April 4, 2025, to announce that Delta Airlines has launched direct flights to the country starting this December.

Giddens said local hotels have benefitted from the increase in airlift, and with Delta Airlines coming on board, more visitors will be travelling to SVG.

“We have to be prepared. We need to ensure that all of our hotels are ready for the new season, 2025 into 2026; that our staff are ready to take on these challenges and these new visitors coming into the island.”

The hotelier said that the SVGHTA has increased training sessions during 2025, and has emphasized to stakeholders the need to take training seriously.

“I have already sent out a letter to all of our stakeholders to let them know they need to train up their staff, to let them know they need to be more disciplined, more customer-oriented. That will be starting as early as May-June. We want everybody to be on board to ensure that our service meets the required standard internationally.”

Minister James said the announcement for the daily, non-stop service from Atlanta with Delta Airlines from December, 20, 2025 comes on the heels of a record-breaking year in stay-over arrivals in SVG.

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