St. Kitts and Nevis Travel Itinerary - Articles - Zimbio

Wake-up Call For The Caribbean, Says Minister Of Tourism

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 17:26:25 GMT

posted by Nevis-Island

Competition For The Caribbean Tourism Market

Basseterre, St. Kitts - Nevis
November 17, 2008 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of State for Tourism, Sen. the Hon. Richard “Rickey” Skerritt says increasing competition from new and emerging markets should serve as a wake-up call for the Caribbean.

Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) at the World Travel Market (WTM) trade show now underway in London, Minister Skerritt further warned that there was no room for complacency, as travelers were now a lot more discerning than in the past about where they take a holiday.

He said regional tourism officials must find new ways to promote the Caribbean as the destination of choice, in the face of growing competition.

“Increasingly across the Middle East and Asia there are more warm weather destinations emerging than ever before but still the Caribbean has to continue to differentiate itself in terms of our nature, our history and culture and our people,” he said.

“We have to build on the very long tradition we have in tourism and move away from the concept of it being always there, in terms of tourism being always there, and refresh it and make it more exciting and really invigorate our products across the region,” he told CMC.

The Caribbean is one of the most tourism-dependent regions in the world and Skerritt, who is also a former vice chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), said industry officials needed to do a better job of exposing the potential visitor, including those who have been to the region several times to “the treasures that they may have missed.”

“There are lots of treasures in the Caribbean and we have to do a better job of really presenting it …We have to do a better job of selling it to our own people and getting our own people to be better at selling our products to the world,” Skerritt added.

WTM is a four-day business to business travel trade industry event that brings together worldwide buyers and sellers from every sector of the industry.

Organisers of the event, which features nearly 6 000 exhibitors, say it provides a unique opportunity to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business with major markets.

Technorati Tags: caribbean tourism, St. Kitts - Nevis, Tourism

St. Kitts - Nevis Nationals’ Opinions Important

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 17:41:18 GMT

posted by Nevis-Island

St. Kitts - Nevis PM Greets Nationals In New York City
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts - Nevis
November 17, 2008 (CUOPM)

The opinion of nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis residing overseas is important to the formulation of national policy.

So says St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.

“My presence in any country around the world where there are large groups of our people has and will always be used to inform them of developments at home and importantly to hear from them what they are thinking so that their thoughts, their suggestions and ideas can form part of the body of opinion that impacts positively on policy development and formulation here in St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Prime Minister Douglas in response to questions from reporters at a recent news conference.

“There are also consular matters that nationals also bring to my attention and the attention of other ministers and their concerns give us the basis to have talks aimed at resolving those issues with officials of the host country through diplomatic channels,” said Dr. Douglas. (more…)

Technorati Tags: Nationals, Nevis, St. Kitts

American Airlines To Offer Daily Flights To St. Kitts - Nevis

Sat, 16 Nov 2008 03:17:42 GMT

posted by Nevis-Island

Daily AA Flights From Miami To St. Kitts - Nevis

Basseterre, St. Kitts - Nevis
November 14, 2008 (CUOPM)

American Airlines’ commencement of a daily service from Miami International Airport to St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport brings to nine the number flights by that carrier from the U.S. mainland.

American Airlines first started its service from Miami service to St. Kitts in December 2004 with three flights weekly, which grew to five flights in 2006. In addition, American Airlines commenced a twice weekly service from JFK International in New York to St. Kitts in November 2007, just one year ago.

“American Airlines has shown continued confidence in our tourism industry,” said Minister of State for Tourism, Sports and Culture, Sen. the Hon. Ricky Skerritt.

“The commencement of this Miami daily service from American Airlines heralds a new era in St. Kitts’ tourism, one that is witnessing increases in demand that are directly related to the growth of the island’s authentic, nature-based tourism product and which have led up to our need to provide a daily jet service from the US, our top visitor market.”

In recognition of American Airlines’ longstanding support of St. Kitts, the island has recently honored it with the “Tourism Partner of the Year” Award, the top recognition given to any tourism partner.

The Award was presented at St. Kitts’ 8th Annual Tourism Awards Banquet on November 1, 2008, which marked the end of the island’s Tourism Awareness Month of activities.

American Airlines has ideally timed these daily non-stop flights to accommodate connecting US and Canadian travelers as well as those flying non-stop to St. Kitts. American Airlines flight #2299 departs Miami International daily at 10:50 a.m. arriving into St. Kitts at 2:50 p.m. The return flight #2280 departs St. Kitts at 3:45 p.m. arriving into Miami International at 6:05 p.m.

American Airlines uses a 148-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 16 first class seats and 132 economy seats for these non-stop flights.

Technorati Tags: American Airlines, Miami, Nevis Flights, St. Kitts Flights

St. Kitts - Nevis Celebrates British Airways Service

Sat, 16 Nov 2008 03:02:50 GMT

posted by Nevis-Island

British Airways Flights From Gatwick To St. Kitts

Basseterre St. Kitts - Nevis
November 14, 2008

The upcoming start of the new British Airways scheduled service to St. Kitts - Nevis was celebrated at the 2008 World Travel Market at a champagne reception hosted by the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. Key members of the press and travel industry were entertained by Manchester-based St. Kitts & Nevis Masqueraders and Clowns. The introduction of the weekly Saturday service, commencing 10 January 2009 from London Gatwick to St. Kitts, will be the first time an established UK scheduled carrier has operated a regular service to the destination.

Commenting on the introduction of this new service, the St Kitts & Nevis Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Senator Ricky Skerritt said “This timely BA service reinforces and supports a key part of the tourism strategy for St. Kitts which is to increase high end tourism. I applaud BA for expanding its Caribbean itinerary at a time when other airlines have been reducing capacity”.

“The new BA service is already attracting attention in the UK marketplace from tour operators and travelers who have not previously shown an interest in St Kitts, while the inclusion of the Club World seats also means that it is now easier for up market UK tour operators to sell both St. Kitts & Nevis”, Skerritt added.

BA will use a three class, 280 seat Boeing 777 aircraft with 40 Club World seats, 24 World Traveler Plus and 216 World Traveler seats. The London Gatwick service will also connect a wide array of UK and European cities served by BA.

Technorati Tags: British Airways, Nevis Flights, St. Kitts Filghts

St. Kitts - Nevis PM Speaks Out On Global Financial Crisis

Fri, 15 Nov 2008 00:33:40 GMT

posted by Nevis-Island

PM Douglas Tell Nationals “To Keep An Eye Out”
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts - Nevis
November 13, 2008 (CUOPM)

Tight regulations of the financial sector by the Basseterre-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has helped to mitigate the impact of global financial crisis on local financial institutions and the St. Kitts and Nevis economy.

But Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said although the cruise ships are still coming and the hotel reservations look promising, the Federation must continue to keep its eye on what is happening worldwide.

“I am delighted that the cruise ships are still coming to our shores and our hotel reservations are still looking very promising. This, I believe, testifies to the robustness and the resilience of our economy in St. Kitts and Nevis. However, we must not be lulled into a sense of complacency. We are a part of the global community, and if the roof of the global economy falls in, we too could get wet when the rain comes pouring in,” said Prime Minister Douglas at Wednesday’s ceremony to break ground to commence construction of the 18-hole championship golf course which has been designed by world famous Tom Fazio.

Prime Minister Douglas called on citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis to “continue to protect the progress that we have made over the years.”

He said all stakeholders must enhance the competiveness of St. Kitts and Nevis “through enhanced productivity so that even as the global pie gets smaller we may continue on a path of growth by carving out for ourselves a bigger share of that pie.”

Prime Minister Douglas said Kittitians and Nevisians must continue to welcome foreign investors and to make the Federation attractive to both domestic and foreign investors.

Technorati Tags: caribbean economy, Financial Crisis, Nevis, St. Kitts