Kingstown, Saint George Parish, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

🇻🇨 Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the centre for the island's agricultural industry and a port of entry for tourists. The city lies within the parish of Saint George in the south-west corner of Saint Vincent.

History The modern capital, Kingstown, was founded by French settlers shortly after 1722, although Saint Vincent had 196 years of British rule before its independence.

The botanical garden, conceived in 1765, is one of the oldest in the Western hemisphere. William Bligh, made famous from the Mutiny on the Bounty, brought seed of the breadfruit tree here for planting, c. 1793.

Geography The town is surrounded by steep hills. Secondary education is provided by the Thomas Saunders Secondary School at Richmond Hill.

Transport The city is served by Argyle International Airport, which has commercial passenger services to the United States, Canada and, soon, to the United Kingdom.

Sights • Botanic Gardens St. Vincent: Located on the northern outskirts of Kingstown are the Botanical Gardens. Kingstown is overlooked by Fort Charlotte on the north side of town. It is located 190 metres (620 ft) above sea level. • The St. George's Cathedral • The Cruise Ship Berth.

Economy Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of this lower-middle-income economy. The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and the unemployment rate remains high at 19.8% in the 1991 census to 15% in 2001. The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development as tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of bananas in many years.

There is a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial sector serving international businesses; its secrecy laws have caused some international concern. There are increasing demands for international financial services like stock exchange and financial intermediaries financial activities in the country. In addition, the natives of Bequia are permitted to hunt up to four humpback whales per year under IWC subsistence quotas.

Tourist Industry The tourism sector has considerable potential for development. The filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the island has helped to expose the country to more potential visitors and investors. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and an improvement in tourism.

Communications In 2010, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had 21,700 telephone land lines. Its land telephone system is fully automatic, covering the entire island and all of the inhabited Grenadine islands. In 2002, there were 10,000 mobile phones. By 2010, this number had increased to 131,800. Mobile phone service is available in most areas of Saint Vincent as well as the Grenadines.

Saint Vincent has two ISPs (Digicel, Flow) that provide cellular telephone and internet service.