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St. Lucia Jazz Story - A Perspective
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St. Lucia Jazz has become one of the major events on St. Lucia’s calendar of events. During the month of May, the island moves to the beat of jazz when music fills the air and tourism takes on a whole new meaning to all. What started as simply a marketing event to boost tourism industry arrivals during a low peak period, has now developed into a truly St. Lucian Festival.
The month of May is fast approaching and St. Lucia continues to draw attention to the whole world through this celebration of jazz music. In 1999, the St. Lucia Jazz took on a new dimension with the addition of more side attractions, i.e. other jazz performances aside from main stage events. These additions have been affectionately called “The Fringe Activities”. This created a more festive atmosphere and allowed the local St. Lucian public and visitors to participate in these events free-of-charge. St. Lucia Jazz also extends to the South of the island with shows being held in the village of Laborie and the towns of Vieux Fort and Soufriere. All of this goes toward making the St. Lucia Jazz a truly St. Lucian experience for visitors and locals alike.
Here’s the story of how St. Lucia Jazz came about, and why it has become the leading event on St. Lucia’s calendar of events and the most popular event in the region.
THE RATIONALE:
St. Lucia Jazz was conceived out of a need to advance St. Lucia’s marketing efforts to a new dimension in order to raise the island’s visibility overseas. With tourism increasingly being called upon to play a leading role in St. Lucia’s economic development, it became imperative to increase the awareness of St. Lucia in the main generating tourism markets. With a limited marketing budget and significant levels of advertising being undertaken by our competitors, the objective was simple: develop an activity /promotional tool which would command international attention and be minimal in cost - enter St. Lucia Jazz: a high momentum event.
St. Lucia Jazz has two (2) main objectives. One, to provide a platform to showcase St. Lucia to a broad cross-section of potential visitors and the other, to redress the traditional trough period in May, so that visitor arrivals and occupancy levels would be on par with that of the winter period. These objectives became broader as St. Lucia Jazz developed to include the use of radio, television and print media at little or no cost to the St. Lucia Tourist Board, through trade for mentions and other barter arrangements. These efforts strengthen the awareness of St. Lucia by increasing the number of gross impressions the island receives which develops desirability for, and travel to the island year round. In addition, St. Lucia Jazz has become an outlet for local expression and economic opportunities, and develops the necessary infrastructure for event productions.
THE EVENT:
St. Lucia Jazz encompasses multiple shows of acoustical/straight ahead jazz, new age jazz, fusion, rhythm and blues with acts emanating from the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe. The shows range from formal performances to intimate late night open air venues and late night club venues to open air picnic style events, which allow the St. Lucia Jazz to offer unparalleled variety and ambience.
Financing of the St. Lucia Jazz is complicated and includes sponsorship (cash and kind), merchandising, gate receipts and contributions by the St. Lucia Tourist Board. In addition, the Government of St. Lucia makes a significant contribution to Jazz through waiver of import duties and taxes. With the limited infrastructure available on the island, patronage of Jazz is limited. Hence contributions from gate receipts are not expected to exceed 30% of the Jazz’s production costs.
Producing St. Lucia Jazz requires the contracting and coordination of several crews and committees including sound and lighting, accommodation, air transport, ground transportation, catering, security, gate controls, communication systems, artiste contracting, sponsor fulfillment, stage design, merchandising, cash management and controls. A significant part of St. Lucia Jazz is the public relations and marketing components which include the Press Launch in St. Lucia, road shows, radio and in-store promotions, press attendance for event coverage, dissemination of promotional literature, radio and television clips, advertising and press releases.
Jazz production depends on the staff of the St. Lucia Tourist Board, contracted personnel and volunteers. Year round planning and total cooperation of all, ensures the successful production of St. Lucia Jazz.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Since its establishment in 1992, St. Lucia Jazz has grown in magnitude and stature, making it the most important marketing activity of the St. Lucia Tourist Board. It is considered by patrons and the press as the “Premiere Jazz Festival” of the Caribbean region. George Wein (producer of over 30 Festivals worldwide) ranked St. Lucia Jazz among the top three Festivals in the world. In 1998, Motown recording artiste, Grover Washington Jr. placed St. Lucia Jazz among the best that he has ever attended. St. Lucia Jazz has surpassed the objectives set out for it and continues to attract international and regional media attention to the island. Visits to St. Lucia due to awareness of the island generated by Jazz continue well beyond the May period. Extensive international media coverage on television, radio and print media has resulted in added exposure; the estimated cost of which surpasses the Board’s overall annual budget.
Another significant achievement is that of local involvement. St. Lucia Jazz has provided the opportunity for local jazz musicians to perform at Jazz resulting in extensive television exposure of artistes. St. Lucia Jazz also provides a ready audience to exploit, not only by musicians by all service providers. This opportunity is utilized by various organizations/individuals putting on exhibitions, performances, events and items for sale. This helps to encourage local participation in Jazz.
THE FUTURE:
As a result of the limitation on accommodation stock, venue seating capacity, air access, etc St. Lucia Jazz cannot physically grow much larger. Its economic impact can however, increase by lengthening the Festival period, increasing the number of shows or increasing ticket prices. However, Jazz benefits must be assessed by the overall benefits which the entire island derives, not only in terms of the money circulating via expenditure on rooms, taxi fares, food and beverage, souvenirs, etc but the promotion which the island receives. The latter is of major significance to tourism and it is this market component which can develop and provide substantial future benefits to St. Lucia. With the continuing successful production of Jazz, it is anticipated that the marketing exposure will multiply as the interest of greater and more discerning press is piqued.
The confidence and experience developed from the successful production of Jazz has ensured that special events will continue to receive strong emphasis in the Board’s tourism marketing. Consequently, Jazz will be used to provide the necessary infrastructure for special events. The purchase of a stage is one example of this, as well as the training of nationals in stage, sound and light engineering. Jazz will also be used to increase the benefits of tourism to the local community by continuing to provide an avenue and audience for display and trade for local goods and services. Finally, the hope is St. Lucia Jazz will do for St. Lucia what the Montreaux Jazz Festival has done for Montreaux -- that is put it on a world map. People visit Montreaux all year round, as a result of experiencing the Montreaux Jazz Festival - this is the ultimate achievement.
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