CASTRIES, St. Lucia (CMC):

Tourism officials in St Lucia on Monday welcomed the introduction of a new non-stop service out of Montreal, Canada at the start of the winter tourist season.

The new weekly Air Canada service is being offered on Mondays into the Hewanorra International Airport and will supplement available flights out of Toronto.

Truly benefit St Lucia

"The enhancement of the air service from Montreal will truly benefit St Lucia, and provide a new gateway to the island for Canadian visitors, creating additional inbound tourism opportunities," said acting director of tourism, Louis Lewis.

"I am confident that the demand from local businesses, as well as inbound and outbound tourists, will make this service a resounding success."

The Montreal service to St. Lucia will be operated using an Airbus 319 jet aircraft, which seats 120 passengers.

"The addition of this new Air Canada service significantly improves the quality of service from Canada to St Lucia and offers Canadians unmatched ease of access and also enhances our competitive positioning," Lewis said, adding that the St Lucia Tourist Board was continuing its efforts at stimulating economic development through air service development.

In addition to Air Canada, St Lucia is served out by Toronto, Canada by West Jet.