The September 16–20 event represents an important marketing opportunity.

But beyond attracting visitors, Saint Lucia faces an increasingly important economic question: how much of every tourism dollar ultimately remains in the country?

For decades, Caribbean destinations have measured tourism success heavily through visitor arrivals. Arrivals remain important, but they tell only part of the story.

A visitor who spends money with a locally owned restaurant, taxi operator, attraction, farmer, tour company, craft producer or small hotel potentially generates a different local economic impact from expenditure that quickly leaves the domestic economy.

That makes the Showcase an opportunity to sell more than Saint Lucia's hotels and beaches. It can sell the Saint Lucian economy.

Community tourism experiences can bring visitors into areas outside traditional tourism centres. Restaurants can purchase more agricultural produce locally. Artisans can access a larger customer base. Taxi drivers and tour operators benefit from increased visitor movement. Small accommodation properties can gain international exposure.

The objective should ultimately be to deepen the connections between the tourism industry and ordinary Saint Lucians.

This is particularly important as policymakers increasingly discuss not simply the number of visitors entering the country but visitor expenditure, length of stay and the amount of economic activity retained locally. For Saint Lucia, that represents the next stage of the tourism conversation.

Success cannot simply mean another record arrival figure if the economic benefits are concentrated among a relatively narrow group of businesses.

The stronger measure is whether tourism produces jobs, profitable Saint Lucian businesses, demand for locally produced goods and opportunities for communities throughout the country.

The international buyers arriving this week will therefore be shown what Saint Lucia has to offer the world. The bigger opportunity is ensuring that when the world buys Saint Lucia, more Saint Lucians share in what tourism produces.