The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority’s (SLTA) 2025 Global Piton Awards concluded last week in Saint Lucia, bringing together the travel industry’s top performers for five days of recognition, exploration and professional development—and Recommend was right there to celebrate along with them. The event, held from June 15 to 19, honored the critical role travel advisors play in promoting Saint Lucia to record-breaking tourism numbers. Recommend offers the Saint Lucia Expert (SLEx) Program, a vital tool for Saint Lucia to foster strong connections with top travel advisors.
Travel professionals from key markets gathered for this prestigious event, with 16 award recipients from the United States, 10 from the United Kingdom, 5 from Canada and 5 from the Caribbean. These top-selling advisors experienced firsthand the attractions and accommodations they routinely sell to clients.
Saint Lucia Up Close
The group stayed at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian, the base of operations from where the SLTA launched “The Amazing Road Trip” on Monday morning. We divided into teams, along with members of the tourism authority, hotel managers and other local tourism industry professionals, and set off to explore the island. We interacted with locals, used public transportation and found our scavenger hunt prizes in schools, fire stations, bus stops, churches and other locations. The race culminated in lunch at Lucian Country Life, served up by the SLTA team. (By the way, we were on Team Daren Sammy, after the famed cricket player—AND WE WON!)
Tuesday saw advisors head out on-site inspections with visits to Sandals Regency La Toc, Sandals Halcyon Beach and the new Secrets St. Lucia Resort & Spa, but it was a short day as the evening was set aside for the Global Pitons Gala, a Bridgerton-themed affair with a glamorous cocktail reception, a gourmet dinner and performances by Lucian artists like songbird and Carnival Queen Lushanne, steelpan soloist Chazz, jazz singer Johnnel Leo, vocalist Ezra DFunmachine and DJ Hyper D.
The ceremony recognized exceptional contributions to Saint Lucia’s tourism growth over the past year. In addition to the Global Piton awards, top-performing partners received distinguished honors including the Prime Minister’s Award, the CEO Award, the Minister of Tourism’s Award and the SLTA’s Chairman Award. There were also two Awards of Merit for Social Media Excellence. All recipients received an original Piton-inspired art piece by Soufriere-based visual artist Garry St. Brice, and the latter two received hand-painted representations of life in Saint Lucia.
Present were officials such as Louis Lewis, CEO of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority; Guibion Ferdinand, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information; and Erwin Louisy, President of the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association. Secretary Ferdinand updated the room on what’s new and what’s coming in tourism for the island, and they all stressed the importance of travel advisors in helping Saint Lucia meet and exceed tourism goals year after year.
The day after the Gala affair, we headed to Rodney Bay Marina to hop aboard a Carnival Sailing double-decker catamaran that hugged the island coastline as it took us to Soufriere, where we were suitably awed by the sight of the majestic Pitons. A gourmet beach picnic, prepared by the chef from Jade Mountain and Anse Chastenet, awaited us once we landed on the volcanic sand beach. Even though it rained, we thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous scenery.
It was the perfect way to end an exciting three days.
And the Winners Are…
Winners from the U.S.: Catie Finch, Travel Anywhere LLC; Cindy McCabe, Bethany Travel/Dream Vacations; Lynn Thomas, AlphaWorld Travel; Mary Fowler, Riverside Tours and Travel; Steve Simmons, Honeymoons Inc.; Mark Hennigan, DREAMERS TRAVEL; Jaime Sanks, Vacation Vibes; Jennifer Byrne, The Tropical Travelers; Linda Dancer, Honeymoons, Inc.; Georgiann Jaworskyj, Custom Travel Services Inc.; Nancy Finn, Island Getaways; Clare Springer, Unlimited Trips & Cruises; Keri Logan-Shink, Sunlover Travel; Sally Jane Smith, TRAVELSMITHS; Christen Perry, Classic Travel Connection; and Kim Goldstein, Journeys Inc.
Winners from Canada: Rita Puglisi, Luxe Destination Weddings; Karen Lippett, LATITUDESPLUS-SMART TRAVEL; Kim Hartlen, Kim Hartlen Travel-Trevello; Willi Green, BST Vacations; and Lisa Tetzlaff, Southland Travel.
Specialty Awards:
The CEO Award
Category: Exceptional Sales Performance by Room Nights – Canada, 2024
Winner: Kim Hartlen, Kim Hartlen Travel – Trevello
The Chairman’s Award
Category: Exceptional Sales Performance by Room Nights – U.S., 2024 Winner: Nancy Finn, Island Getaways
Awards of Merit – Social Media Excellence
Presented in recognition of outstanding contribution to Saint Lucia’s 360-degree digital and social media strategy. Winners: Linda Dancer, Honeymoons Inc. and Carlie Finch, 2 Travel Anywhere, LLC
The Prime Minister’s Award
Category: Exceptional Sales Performance by Revenue – U.S. Market, Global Sales, 2024 Winner: Georgiann Jaworskyj, Custom Travel Services Inc.
Congratulations to all the winners!
For more on Saint Lucia, visit stlucia.org. To become a certified Saint Lucia expert, visit slex.recommend.com.
