Published 3 November 2022
Basseterre
Buckie Got It St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
St. Kitts’ International Accolades In October
St. Kitts’ International Accolades In October
Basseterre, St. Kitts (02 November 2022) — St. Kitts continues to punch above its weight as the destination’s new brand campaign, “Venture Deeper,” resonates with international travel and trade publications throughout the United States and Canada. During the month of October, the destination added a series of accolades to its already distinguished repertoire. The destination achieved the silver Magellan award for the Caribbean’s Overall Adventure Destination, made the list of Afar’s “Best Places to go in December,” Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Awards, Travel Courier’s “Ultimate Caribbean Update.” and was identified by Caribbean Journal as the “Caribbean’s ‘Buzziest’ Destination Right Now.”
To maintain the momentum of the recent brand launch and reacquaint tour operators with the destination, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority hosted tour operators for its first post-COVID-19 familiarization trip. Attendees arrived with Chief Executive Officer Ellison “Tommy” Thompson after successful meetings at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Marketplace in Puerto Rico. The familiarization trip featured tour operators from Air Canada Vacations, Classic Vacations, Hopper, Sackville Travel, and many other notable tour operator entities. The trip allowed the tour operators to fully immerse themselves into the wonders of St. Kitts through site visits, an island tour, and welcome reception. A key element of the visit was a networking event that allowed the tour operators to build partnerships with local tourism stakeholders as a part of key marketing strategies to continue to cement St. Kitts as a premier tourism destination. The trip culminated with a culturally infused farewell event at Carambola Beach Club.
“We were extremely honored to see tour operators return to St. Kitts. Some operators returned to reengage themselves with the destination, while others were here to expand their programs into St. Kitts. Additionally, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority was able to capitalize on the opportunities to present the destination to new operators with no existing programs offering the destination. There are many strategic plans to support the new brand campaign, so offering a familiarization trip to tour operators who were already visiting a neighboring Caribbean Island seemed beneficial. Therefore, nine tour operators opted for the chance to visit St. Kitts and immerse themselves in authentic Kittitian experiences coupled with the destination’s charm, culture, cuisine, history, and heritage. The tour operators were able to compare what we presented at CHTA to the reality of visiting the island. After the success of this trip, we can expect to see new programs and an expansion of programs featuring St. Kitts from their companies,” said Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, Chief Executive Officer at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
For highlights of this experience, visit the following link: https://bit.ly/3Dv3bbF
The 2022-2023 cruise season officially commenced in October with the arrival of the first inaugural call of the season, Seabourn Venture. St. Kitts hosted an honorary Plaque Exchange Ceremony to commemorate the call at South Friars Bay, with the Prime Minister of the Federation, the Honourable Dr. Terrence Drew presenting the destination’s plaque to Captain Stig Betten.
As part of the continued efforts to promote the destination, local tourism stakeholders partnered with the St. Kitts Tourism Authority at the Worldwide Exhibition for Incentives Travel, Meetings, and Events (IMEX) America in Las Vegas. IMEX is the largest trade show in the United States for the global meetings, events, and incentive travel industry, offering the St. Kitts Tourism Authority the opportunity to promote St. Kitts as a premier destination to host conferences and incentive groups. Attendees were able to interact with local companies such as Kantours, Nevis Sun Tours, Park Hyatt St. Kitts, Royal St. Kitts Hotel, St. Kitts Marriott Resort, and Sunlinc.
The Travel Trade Relations Specialist at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Denise Zimber, and Southeast US Sales at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Allison Schultz, continue to represent the destination at numerous trade and travel shows across the United States for the month of October including but not limited to the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) Fall Trade Show in Alabama and the AAA Ohio Fall Consumer Trade Show. The destination’s presence at these trade shows allows the opportunity to promote St. Kitts in key feeder cities across the US, thus generating travel demand for United, Delta, and American Airlines flights that service the destination.
As the destination continues to work to address existing airlift challenges, officials from the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and the St. Christopher Air and Seaports Authority engaged network planners of various airlines at Routes Worldwide in Las Vegas. Chief Executive Officer at the St. Kitts Authority, Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, Mr. Keithley Phillip, Chief Executive Officer at the St. Christopher Air and Seaports Authority (SCASPA) and the team discussed opportunities for expansion of service and prospects for new routes with American Airlines, Air Canada, Caribbean Airlines, COPA, British Airways, Delta, Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines. As part of its mid to long-term strategic plan, the destination continued dialogue with new carriers. Legacy carriers of the destination confirmed their Fall/Winter return, with some having an earlier start for this upcoming season.
Intra-regional was also a priority agenda item at Routes. The team with executives of Caribbean Airlines with the goal of exploring solutions to address the crippling challenges with intra-regional travel and explored options for accessing the South American market with COPA Airlines.
In addition to the success amassed in early October, Minister of Tourism, Honourable Marsha T. Henderson led a St. Kitts delegation to the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Conference in the Dominican Republic. During the three- day event, Minister Henderson met with key cruise line executives from Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Group, as well as executives from the FCCA and other Ministers of Tourism in the region.
“At the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association conference, we were able to dialogue with our cruise partners. I was pleased to hear the rave reviews about the destination. Cruise passengers love St. Kitts, but the lines also impressed the need for authentic experiences within the destination. There is an urgent need for us to diversify our product offerings and create more immersive, authentic Kittitian experiences for cruise passengers. The cruise lines are asking for it, especially on days when we will see cruise ships in port for longer hours,” said Honourable Marsha T. Henderson, Minister of Tourism.
In addition, Minister Henderson continued her series of introductory meetings with various stakeholders within the tourism industry as she met with Aloe Rub Vendors, Beach Bar vendors, Hair Braiders, Primate Petting Vendors, Port Zante merchants, and Taxi Operators.
“These meetings provide the opportunity for tourism officials to update stakeholders on the hard work of the Ministry of Tourism and the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and what is expected for the upcoming season. More importantly, it creates a dialogue between us and our stakeholders where we can hear and address their concerns and seek suggestions for assistance with operations that we want to ensure are rolled out effortlessly. We believe that to build a stronger and more resilient tourism sector, collaboration is essential, and we are pleased with the response from our stakeholders thus far,” said Melnecia Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
Tourism Month will be celebrated during the month of November. Stakeholders and the public are encouraged to follow, like, and subscribe to Kittitian Heartbeat Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages for all local tourism industry news. In addition, we will be publishing critical updates and fliers for all workshops, fests, and activities surrounding Tourism Awareness Month.
