The St Lucian people will tell you that there is so much more to see and do in St Lucia than just what you see in the brochure.
Whether its a holiday, on business, or for a short break St Lucia continues to increase in popularity amongst us Brits - and rightly so!
That's why its important to get your travel plans sorted out properly, and in our opinion, flight, holiday and hotel specialists Opodo offer the best service online - but you can find that out for yourself here...
As an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979, St. Lucia had full responsibility for internal self-government but left its external affairs and defense responsibilities to the United Kingdom.
The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalise the banana industry. Despite negative growth in 2001, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP growth should recover in the future.
The St. Lucia Labor Party (SLP) won the first post-independence elections in July 1979, taking 12 of 17 seats in parliament. A period of turbulence ensued, in which squabbling within the party led to several changes of prime minister. Pressure from the private sector and the unions forced the government to resign in 1982. New elections were then called and were won resoundingly by Compton's UWP, which took 14 of 17 seats.
The capital city of Saint Lucia is Castries, where about one third of the population lives. Major towns include Gros Islet, Soufrière and Vieux Fort. The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds, with a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from May to November.
Vieux Fort is located in the southern part of St. Lucia. It is the second-largest town on the island and is the home of St Lucia's international airport, Hewanorra International Airport. (Hewanorra is the island's old Amerindian name.)
Saint Lucia is a parliamentary democracy modeled on the Westminster system. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor General, appointed by the Queen as her representative. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in parliament.
The recent changes in the European Union import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia.
It has several small communities which include Pierrot, Grace, Belle Vue, Zaboo, LaResource, Augier, St.Urban. In the second half of the 18th century, Vieux Fort was the center of St Lucia's sugar industry; today it is more industrial.
Castries, population 11,147 (1991), is the capital of Saint Lucia. Its harbor is one of the best in the West Indies. Castries was founded by the French in 1650, named from Charles Eugène Gabriel de la Croix, Marquis de Castries. The islands' history is unique in having changed hands seven times between the English and French, hence the rich heritage of the creole culture tinged with smatterings of French influences and the patois second language spoken by most locals.
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