The St. Lucia Civil Service Association is pleased to announce the hosting of a sister organization in collaboration with Travel Concepts Inc. originating out of the United Kingdom called London CSA.

London CSA represents a cross-section of the British civil service and numbers 150. Over the last five years, the group has held its annual vacation gathering in Barbados, but a decision was taken in 2008 to move to a new location, to form stronger links across the CSA’s of the region, and so St. Lucia was chosen.

While here, the group will stay at the Bay Gardens Hotel and will engage in several activities which will redound to the economic benefit of St. Lucia. The highlight of their stay – as is customary on their island visitations - will be challenging their local CSA counterparts in several sporting disciplines. According to their roster of activities, the group will play at least two rounds of golf at the St. Lucia Golf & Country Club; tennis at the St. Lucia Racquet Club; cricket, netball and volleyball at the Beausejour Cricket Grounds; men’s & ladies’ 5-a-side football and rugby at the Gros Islet playing field; badminton at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School and a 5K run from Volney’s Gas Station to Pigeon Island.

The St. Lucia Civil Service Association will host London CSA from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Sunday October 5^th at the CSA centre in Sans Souci for a half day of dominoes, pools, quizzes and other light entertainment.

An advance organizing team from London CSA will arrive Wednesday October 1^st to ensure all is in place for the arrival of the group, scheduled for Friday October 3^rd.

London CSA will hold a medal & prize-giving ceremony on Sunday October 5^th at Bay Gardens Beach Resort, Reduit.

A press conference on the group’s visit will be held on Thursday October 2^nd starting at 10:00 am at the CSA Centre, Sans Souci.

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A new fizz will be added to Creole month this year with the launch of St Lucia’s very own OKTOBER FEST - the world’s largest beer festival.

The event OKTOBERFEST En Kweyol will be sponsored by the Windward & Leeward Brewery Limited through its core brands Heineken, Piton and Guinness together with Cable & Wireless.

OKTOBERFEST En Kweyol will take place on Sunday October 5, 2008 at Saamans Park from 2pm.

Although the event has its roots in Germany, Oktoberfest is enjoyed in one form or another in cities and towns worldwide. Today, it is the largest festival in the world, with an international flavor characteristic of the 21^st century. It is a colourful festive celebration of food and drinks, arts & craft that has become an annual tradition around the world, usually celebrated during the month of October. It is a community event of family entertainment (Children’s area & family fun), featuring continuous pulsating music of various genres, steeped in deep cultural heritage.

At the St.Lucian version of the festival, a variety of beers will be available. On hand will be imported beers from the Heineken International stable such as Edelweiss, Pelforth Brune and George Killians. The original Oktoberfest German beer “Paulaner” will also be offered plus the current range of WLBL portfolio, plus a “brew master’s” special.

In keeping with “Creole Month” activities, St.Lucians will also be treated to the usual Creole food and will be entertained by a number of great local talents. The Addition Band, Cable & Wireless Diamond Steel Orchestra, Mishack, Herb Black, Sally Elwin, KO and Ricky T will be present to rock the crowd.

Come and celebrate this meeting of two special Worlds and special traditions.

Mark your Calendars and make OKTOBERFEST EN KWEYOL on the 5^th October a date for you, family and friends. See you there.

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St. Lucia will play host to Caribbean Marketplace scheduled
for January 18 to 20, 2009.  Caribbean Marketplace is the most important annual sales and marketing event on the Caribbean
tourism calendar.  This prestigious event brings together active hotel members, airlines, car rental companies and ground handlers with qualified tour operators and wholesalers.

The annual event is endorsed by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) as the official Marketplace of the Caribbean region.  The first Marketplace was held in 1980, and has been held every January since then, growing in size, quality, and integrity each year. The event typically attracts more than 1,400 delegates from all over the world and on the two main business days over 11,000 business appointments are taken.

The host agency for Caribbean Marketplace 2009 is the St. Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association (SLHTA) working in collaboration with Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), the administrator and producer of the event. The SLHTA is supported financially and technically by the St. Lucia Tourist Board (SLTB) and the Ministry of Tourism
(MOT). While these tourism agencies are responsible for delivering the event, it is a national effort and has received
the support of both public and private sector agencies.

St. Lucia is anticipating a record number of delegates due to the expressed level of interest (from industry partners and media) in our tourism development plans and initiatives, as well as the novelty of the event being held for the first
time in the Eastern Caribbean.

Over 20 hotels will provide accommodation for the event. The contribution of the accommodation sector has been tremendous, with hotels offering discounted rates for delegates. The event is scheduled over a three-day period with an average 4 stay. With the rescheduling of the Food & Rum Festival and a program of pre/post events and activities, it is anticipated that St. Lucia will record a longer
average stay for Caribbean Marketplace 2009.

There are thirteen (13) major program areas associated with the hosting of Caribbean Marketplace 2009.  These include: Special Events, Security, VIP/Protocol & Hospitality, Accommodation, Media & Public Relations, Logistics,
Ground Transportation, Airlift, Communications & IT, Volunteer Services, Immigration & Customs, Sponsorship, Medical & Emergency.  The intention is to deliver every component at world-class standard.

The event is themed is ‘Business on the Beach’ as the main selling floor and support services for Caribbean Marketplace 2009 will be accommodated in temporary facilities (approximately 73,000 SQF) on the Pigeon Island Causeway. The site is located south of The Landings on undeveloped private lands. Aruba and Jamaica have
successfully hosted Caribbean Marketplace using temporary structures. A competition was held to select an event
logo based on the ‘Business on the Beach’ theme. The winning submission was designed by
Christine Lorde and Aisha Cruikshank of The Star Publishing Company.

Special buyer and media itineraries are being developed by the St. Lucia Tourist Board to ensure that the destination receives maximum exposure during the event. Special activities are being planned for all event delegates and some hotels are hosting events to showcase their properties to important industry partners. The event site will feature a local Arts & Craft Village and local entertainers, service providers and suppliers will be engaged in the delivery of the event.

Caribbean Marketplace is a travel trade event and therefore will not be open to the public. Arrangements will be made for student groups to visit the main selling floor during the event. The proceeds from a fundraising activity held
during the event will be donated the Educational Fund of the St. Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association.

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