- SVG implements online process to obtain marriage licences
St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is strategically advancing its efforts to capitalise on the profitable destination wedding sector. Destination weddings are a lucrative industry, with an estimated yearly expenditure of over $16 billion.
According to Minister of Tourism Carlos James, the government of SVG has recently implemented an online application system to streamline the process of obtaining marriage licences for those who desire to get married on the island. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency and expediency for prospective guests.
“We are putting in place an online application process that makes it easier for visitors, whereby you can stay in Philadelphia, in London, on your couch, or in an Uber heading to the airport and log in online, load your information, and be processed electronically. By the time you get to St. Vincent, you go straight to your hotel room or your villa.”
“The new provisions in the law will remove the requirement that visitors have to be in the state at least a day or two prior to the application process,” James stated.
James said there is a growing cross-section of people who are looking for new destinations to travel and new locations to get married, and destination weddings are a huge market in which St Vincent has not seen its full potential.
“With this new development, we are going to go heavily into the marketing and promotion of destination weddings here in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Within a few weeks, we will officially launch this from the Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and have a global launch of our destination wedding niche as part of our tourism product.”
James said the move has positive implications for people in the Grenadines who may not necessarily want to be burdened with coming to the mainland.
“Even though we have made the process accessible to them at the revenue offices in the Grenadines, they may also choose not to go down to the revenue office. They can go through the process online, electronically, and be facilitated.”
In 2022, the Parliament of St. Vincent and the Grenadines made amendments to the Marriage Act, which now permits those visiting the island to get into marriage within a span of 24 hours.
Destination weddings are a lucrative industry, with an estimated yearly expenditure of over $16 billion. The number of weddings in 2022 witnessed a notable increase, reaching over 2.5 million, compared to the pre-pandemic figure of 2.2 million recorded in 2019.
In 2020, the mean expenditure for a wedding gown was $1,631. According to projections, the average price is expected to range between $1,800 and $2,500 in the year 2023.
