Grenada invites tourists to leave their resorts and meet the locals on holidays
The new head of the Grenada Tourism Authority says Canadians who haven’t visited her destination shouldn’t dismiss it as simply another part of the world offering great beaches and little else. Tourism authority CEO Stacey Liburd told a July 13 Toronto gathering that her part of the world offers a range of activities for visitors on both land and in water.
“You realize that this destination is more than sun, sand and sea,” said Liburd, who was named head of the Grenada Tourism Authority just weeks ago, having previously served as the director of tourism for Anguilla’s tourism board.
Liburd praised her “beautiful destination,” adding that green, fragrant Grenada is “truly the spice island of the Caribbean,” a moniker that results from its cultivation of the likes of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and other spices. The Toronto event featured a steel drum musician, tropical drinks and a video showing island attributes.
Sekou Stroude, who oversees Grenada tourism promotion efforts in Canada, later said that his “very safe” island is somewhat bucking a Caribbean trend.
“We are not the typical destination where you stay in the resort, spend your whole week there [in the resort],” he said. “We encourage you to leave the resort and mingle with the locals and experience the culture.”
Grenada only has three all-inclusives, a style of lodging that has proven very popular on many other Caribbean islands.
Tourism authority reps say water sports enthusiasts will appreciate Grenada, home to the world’s first underwater sculpture park and the Caribbean’s largest wreck dive. There are 50 dive sites in total.
The island also has 10 marinas able to accommodate yachts of up to 90 meters. Grenada is also home to 49 white-sand beaches and nine black-sand ones.
But they add that Grenada’s green, scenic landscapes enable such land-based activities as hiking on an island that has 15 waterfalls, and lead it to host the likes of the annual Chocolate Festival., which next year runs May 22-27. Visitors can actually pick their own cocoa – the source of chocolate – and go the “tree-to-(chocolate) bar” route, Stroude said.
Those visitors can also experience chocolate-flavoured rum and experience chocolate-themed rum sessions, with Stroude reporting that Grenada’s chocolate doesn’t have the high sugar content most Canadians associate chocolate with and so is healthier.
Air Canada now has twice-weekly Toronto-Grenada service, which will drop to weekly service in September and October, then rebound to two weekly flights in November.
WestJet in turn will restart its winter Toronto-Grenada service Dec. 14.
“People have a choice” of airline, Stroude noted.
Meanwhile, Tornia Charles, the tourism authority’s director of sales and marketing, told those on hand in Toronto that her destination will provide a stress-free holiday, with visitors feeling “relaxed and rejuvenated.”
