Minister Shallow pushes back on calls to reject mass tourism 

By Val Matthias. Updated 11:04 a.m., Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Tourism Minister Dr Kishore Shallow has signalled that St. Vincent and the Grenadines should not rule out mass tourism at this stage of its development, responding to recent calls for the country to avoid pursuing that model.

Speaking on Hot FM on June 16, Dr Shallow addressed the debate after former Chief Executive Officer of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority, Annette Mark, said in a social media post that the country does not have the capacity for mass tourism and that it should not become the country’s approach.

Without directly criticising the former tourism official’s position, Dr Shallow suggested the question remains unsettled and argued that St. Vincent and the Grenadines has the flexibility to pursue more than one tourism market.

“I heard earlier where the former CEO said about mass tourism and so on, and even that was undecided,” he said.

“Mass tourism is when you have a high level of traffic. We don’t have that, that difficulty, probably unfortunate, so we have to define exactly what we want”, he said.

He went on to say: “What we do have is a very beautiful, naturally beautiful destination that you all will enjoy once you come here. So we have to, at this stage, develop our tourism product, which is still immature in every sense, at least in most cases. Immature in the sense that we are not out there globally.”

According to the minister, the country’s geography places it in a different position from some regional competitors.

“St. Vincent and the Grenadines is well placed. We’re unique in that we have St. Vincent mainland and the Grenadines. What it affords us is to be able to do both,” he said.

He argued that larger visitor volumes could potentially be accommodated on mainland St. Vincent while the Grenadines continue to cater to higher-end and more exclusive tourism experiences.

“We don’t at this point have to determine and say, well no to mass tourism and only exclusive because we don’t have the numbers yet,” Dr Shallow said.

The minister also suggested the wider challenge for the sector is that the country has not yet clearly defined its tourism identity.

“When I got to the ministry, it was clear that we don’t necessarily have a particular mission. We don’t understand what it is we are selling as a destination,” he said.

Dr Shallow described St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a naturally attractive destination but said the tourism product remains underdeveloped and lacks international recognition.

He recounted an encounter during a visit to Singapore last year where, after identifying himself as being from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a tourist told him they had never heard of the country.

The minister said government efforts are now focused on defining the national tourism product while addressing weaknesses in infrastructure and service delivery.

“Our infrastructure is lacking. Our service is still very limited,” he said, adding that improvements are needed before the destination can compete more effectively with regional neighbours such as Barbados and St. Lucia.

END

About the Author

This article was written and submitted by freelance journalist Mr. Val Matthias, a trained communicator with more than two decades in the media sector. All supporting materials for this story have been presented, vetted, and verified. Mr Matthias can be reached at [email protected].