As part of the month of activities to celebrate Tourism Month, the Ministry of Tourism, Sports & Culture, held a Familiarisation Tour, on Tuesday, 21st November, with members of the media, the Carnival Development Corporation, and persons within the hotel sector.
The tour was aimed at:
- Increasing knowledge about the tourism product that is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG);
- Increasing efficiency in relaying information to readers and clients;
- Encouraging publication of information garnered from the tour, and on the SVG destination as a whole;
- Providing the opportunity to experience elements of SVG’s culture, food and history.
Four (4) places were visited during the tour. It began with a visit to the Frisko Frost Bite, Kingstown, which has been in existence for the past twenty seven (27) years. There, participants were treated to a sample of their new dasheen ice cream, that was introduced in October 2017.
Participants then journeyed to Erica’s Country Style, an Argo-processing business, that was established approximately thirty (30) years ago. A brief history of the Argo-Processing Industry was given. A small demonstration of the making of the all-purpose seasoning was also shown. At present Erica’s Country Style offers twenty-two (22) products, however its main products are the all-purpose seasoning, hot pepper sauce, pepper jelly and plantain chips.
The Tour then moved on to the Saint Vincent Distillery Limited where a guided tour of the facility was given by Ms. Phillippa Greaves. The Distillery has been operating since 1928, and was privatised in 1996. At present, it is famous for making it’s Sunset Strong Rum, Captain Bligh Rum, Sunset Light Rum, Sparrow and Rum punch. A demonstration of the different stages in the rum-production process was shown. At the end of the tour persons were treated with a sample of each of the rum produced at the Distillery.
The Tour concluded at the Orange Hill Biotechnology Centre, which was established in 1995, and was first operated by the Taiwanese Technical Mission, and later handed over to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2013. Visits were made to the vegetable seedling nursery, where tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other seedlings are grown, and the agro-processing lab, where participants were treated to a sample of cookies made from the yellow potato flour produced at the lab. The different kinds of flour produced at the lab were also displayed, which included dasheen, plantain and sweet potato flour.
