“Tourism Growth Cannot Come at Any Cost”, Dr. Shallow Says 

By Val Matthias. Updated 10:15 a.m., Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4). 

Tourism growth in St Vincent and the Grenadines must not come at the expense of the natural environment on which the industry depends, Tourism Minister Dr Kishore Shallow has warned.

Speaking at the signing ceremony for the Government’s cruise-port partnership with Global Ports Holding (GPH) on Monday 26, October, Shallow said SVG could not pursue tourism expansion “at any cost”, stressing that environmental protection must remain part of the country’s tourism strategy.

“As I’ve said before and I’ve repeated this many times, that also as the minister responsible for sustainable development, we cannot pursue tourism growth at any cost,” Shallow said.

He said SVG’s maritime environment, waterfalls and landscape are among the reasons visitors come to the country and therefore have to be protected.

“We therefore have a responsibility to protect them,” he said.

The warning comes as SVG’s tourism industry continues to record growth and the country prepares for an expansion of its cruise sector.

Official Tourism Ministry figures show that from January to August 2026, SVG recorded 86,647 stay-over visitors, an 8.4 per cent increase over the same period in 2025. The Tourism Authority also reported that total visitor arrivals during the first eight months of 2026 stood at 276,088

The Ministry has also identified cruise tourism as an important part of the country’s broader tourism strategy. In a July 2026 stakeholder meeting on the GPH partnership, the Ministry said the proposed expansion of the Kingstown Cruise Ship Berth was expected to increase passenger arrivals and national revenue, while positioning SVG to accommodate new cruise liners.

That growth is expected to place greater attention on how the country manages the relationship between tourism expansion and the natural resources that attract visitors.

Shallow said SVG cannot assume cruise ships will continue coming simply because of the country’s natural beauty.

“We cannot assume that ships will come to our shores simply because we have a beautiful destination,” he said, adding that he believed this was something SVG had taken for granted in the past.

He said the global cruise industry is “extremely competitive”, with destinations competing for the same itineraries, vessels, passengers and tourist expenditure.

It is in response to that competitive environment that the government is turning to GPH.which Shallow said brings experience, expertise and international relationships in the cruise-port industry.

He said the government expects GPH to help “improve and increase” cruise numbers.

But Shallow’s remarks also point to a wider challenge: ensuring that increased visitor activity does not undermine the environmental assets that form part of SVG’s tourism appeal.

The Ministry has previously described cruise tourism as a critical pillar of the country’s tourism industry and has said its objective is to position SVG as a sustainable cruise destination. At the end of 2025, the Ministry highlighted the inaugural call of Oceania Allura, saying the country remained committed to strengthening cruise partnerships, improving port and destination readiness and ensuring that the benefits of cruise tourism are shared across communities.

Shallow also said the government is working to strengthen air access, improve the accommodation sector, enhance destination marketing and raise standards and service delivery.

He noted that hotels across the country are currently booked out and said SVG must expand its room stock. 

The Tourism Minister’s position is therefore that expansion of the sector must be matched by greater attention to the country’s capacity and environmental responsibilities.

The GPH agreement, he said, represents a “bold” step in strengthening the cruise component of SVG’s tourism industry.

But as the government seeks more ships, passengers and tourism activity, Shallow says the country’s natural assets cannot be treated as an unlimited resource.

“We cannot pursue tourism growth at any cost,” he said. 

The warning comes as the Government and GPH begin a 30-year partnership to develop SVG’s cruise-port infrastructure. The agreement is to be implemented in two phases, with a minimum investment of US$80 million. The first phase requires at least US$20 million for expansion of the existing Kingstown cruise berth, while the second phase involves a minimum US$60 million investment and is expected to include a new pier west of Kingstown and cruise-ship and mega-yacht berthing facilities at Clifton, Union Island.

The scale and duration of the agreement are intended to strengthen SVG’s position in the competitive cruise industry. But Shallow’s warning places another measure on that expansion: as the country seeks to attract more ships and visitors, tourism growth must also protect the natural environment that forms part of SVG’s tourism product.

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