This New Canadian Travel Series Is Your Sign To Stop Vacationing On Autopilot

If your idea of a Caribbean vacation starts and ends with a wristband and a pool lounger, Natalie Preddie is here—lovingly—to shake you out of it.

Premiering March 1, 2026, Beyond the Resort is a new Canadian-produced travel series hosted by travel journalist and TV host Natalie Preddie, alongside beloved on-air personality Kayla Marie Williams. Filmed entirely in Saint Lucia and directed by award-winning filmmaker Tristan Barrocks, the first season offers a stunning, soulful look at the island—one rooted in culture, history, and the people who actually define a destination.

And yes, it’s visually gorgeous. But it’s not travel-as-a-postcard. It’s travel as participation.

“I hope audiences shift from asking ‘What can I get from this destination?’ to ‘How can I engage with this place respectfully and meaningfully?’” says Natalie. “Travel isn’t just consumption, it’s participation. When you see yourself as a guest in someone else’s living culture, your choices change.”

That mindset is the heartbeat of the series—especially as more travellers are craving deeper connection over cookie-cutter itineraries. Beyond the Resort taps into that shift, moving away from passive vacationing and toward purposeful travel that feels more human, more real, and more memorable.

One of the most powerful moments of the season comes at the base of Gros Piton, where Natalie spends time learning from the Fons Gens Libres community—a more-than-100-year-old settlement descended from formerly enslaved Africans who escaped and built a free community. Today, their descendants are the only official guides permitted to lead hikers up the Pitons.

“Understanding that history, and seeing how it’s directly connected to modern tourism, was incredibly moving,” she says. “It transforms a hike from a scenic activity into a cultural experience rooted in resilience, legacy, and continuity. When tourism includes that kind of living history and community leadership, it stops being transactional and becomes meaningful. That, to me, is where the magic is.”

The show also spotlights locally owned Black businesses—a choice Natalie calls non-negotiable.

“Because representation shapes economic reality,” she says. “Visibility drives traffic, partnerships, and survival. If travel media keeps showing the same businesses, the same voices benefit. Expanding that lens isn’t political, it’s accurate and responsible storytelling.”

And if you’re wondering how the team balanced cinematic travel vibes with grounded storytelling, Natalie is clear: “We agreed early that beauty could never come at the expense of truth. Gorgeous visuals draw you in but people and context hold you there. Every cinematic moment had to be anchored in a real voice or real experience. No empty spectacle.”

As for the travel habits she hopes we all start unlearning? She’s not subtle (and honestly, thank goodness).

“Unlearn staying inside the resort bubble the entire trip,” she says. “Unlearn assuming convenience equals authenticity. Unlearn treating destinations like themed environments instead of real communities. Comfort is fine—but isolation isn’t.”

For anyone planning a Saint Lucia trip now, Natalie says it doesn’t take a total itinerary overhaul to travel deeper. It just takes intention. Her easiest upgrades?

Add one community food experience (like the Cacao Saint Lucie chocolate experience), choose one locally guided cultural or history tour (hello, Gros Piton), and spend one day in neighbourhoods and markets—like the Saturday farmers market in Rodney Bay.

“These alone change the texture of the trip,” she says.

Ultimately, Beyond the Resort is about one simple shift: choosing impact over autopilot.

“Ask one better question everywhere you go: ‘Who is behind this?’ Choose one local business on purpose. Learn one piece of cultural context before you arrive. Shift one decision toward impact instead of convenience,” says Natalie. “You don’t have to overhaul your trip—just be deliberate. That’s the heart of Beyond the Resort.”

Beyond the Resort premieres March 1, 2026, with the official trailer now live. —Noa Nichol