TORONTO – In partnership with the Canadian Cricket Association, the St. Lucia Tourist Board is wooing Canada’s cricket fans to support their players in St. Lucia next month when they arrive for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Director of Tourism, Maria Fowell and Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket World Cup, St. Lucia Inc., will travel to Toronto for a special “Farewell Dinner” on Sunday, February 11, 2007, held in support of the Canadian cricket team which bats against Kenya, New Zealand and England in the first round of the competition in St. Lucia from March 14 to 24, 2007. St. Lucia also hosts one of the semifinals of the World Cup on April 25.
From left. Farokh Noria, committee member of the Canadian Cricket Association is pictured here with Maria Fowell, St. Lucia’s Director of Tourism and Dr. Ernest Hilaire, CEO of Cricket World Cup St. Lucia Inc. at a cricket gathering in Canada last year.
To be held at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, the fundraiser dinner is being held for the Canadian national cricket team who have made enormous personal and financial sacrifices to participate in the competition. “We are ready to welcome not only the Canadian cricket team to the Caribbean, but their friends, family and all cricket fans in Canada who not only want to follow the matches, but who want to have an amazing experience in St. Lucia,” said Maria Fowell.
Fowell said St. Lucia values the Canadian travel market and no effort will be spared to attract Canadians to St. Lucia for cricket and for other special events throughout the year, such as the St. Lucia Jazz festival and Carnival. “With our new and diverse accommodations, attractions and solid infrastructure, St. Lucia has become an extremely attractive destination for travellers of all tastes,” said Fowell, who predicted 2007 will be a very busy and successful year for the island’s tourism industry.
Dr. Ernest Hilaire (left) sports Canada’s cricket colors ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup in St. Lucia. Pictured at right is Ben Sennik, President of the Canadian Cricket Association.
At the St. Lucia-branded Toronto affair, Canadian cricket players will be on hand for autographs, while cricket memorabilia will be auctioned.
St. Lucia has earned CWC 2007’s “Blue Package” which includes six first round or group stage matches between Canada, England, Kenya, and New Zealand in Group C in March 2007, and the semifinal between the number one (1) and four (4) teams in April. Jamaica will host the other semifinal and Barbados handles the final.
Tickets were still available for the first round matches, while the semifinal, which will attract 20,000 spectators, had already been “sold out” in the public ticketing phase, with tickets only available through the purchase of packages from official tour operators (www.cricketlogistics.com) and from the Corporate Hospitality programme ([email protected]).
Besides St. Lucia, the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 will be held in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago. St. Vincent and the Grenadines will host a number of the warm-up matches.
