Charlestown, Nevis
August 04, 2007
For Immediate Publice Release
Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis the Hon. Denzil Douglas has hailed the launch of the Sea Bridge (SKN) Inc. ferry service as one which provided a new level of service that would link both islands economically and socially.
He was at the time delivering the feature address which marked the launch of the Sea Bridge ferry service on August 02, 2007, at the landing site at Cades Bay. The ferry service which caters to vehicle owners as well as passengers offers a 15 minute route from Cades Bay in Nevis to Majors Bay on the South East Peninsula in St. Kitts.
“For two islands that are so close to each other, the most natural desire is to have easier access to each other. Easier Access would help to promote greater cohesiveness among our people. It would enhance the opportunities to do business, diversify options for leisure activities among our people and create new levels of convenience for our visitors,” he said.
Mr. Douglas encouraged nationals to engage in the investment opportunities that were emerging in the economy. He said it was critical that everyone understood there was room for private sector investment in the transportation sector although millions of dollars had been spent to upgrade the air and sea ports to increase air and sea traffic in the Federation.He referred to the investment climate in St. Kitts and Nevis as very good and work was being done to enhance the processing time of investment projects. Nonetheless he said, the Federation had attracted significant investment interests in the area of tourism infrastructure. Once those projects are completed he said they would provide significant economic spin off and open the doors to other support service industries.
“What this means is that our people must be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities. Education and training are crucial. Beyond that is the general attitude of our people towards the tourism industry, where I still feel we have much room for improvement.
“We must strive for excellence in service provision and everyone must make our visitors feel welcomed and safe in our country and some of this must start with ourselves even within our homes. In other words we must improve the renowned “˜Kittitian and Nevisian Hospitality’ and ensure that we take it to higher levels of excellence,’ he said.
The Prime Minister added that it was equally important that the human resource development encompassed other areas of endeavour that were pertinent to the development of St. Kitts and Nevis. He said engineers in various disciplines and Information Technology specialists were only two examples of the kind of professionals that were required in the Federation and which spoke to future opportunities for business development and employment options.
Mr. Douglas took the opportunity to address the Federation’s participation and membership in regional bodies such as the Organisation of East Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM) which he said was vital to secure the long term sustainability of the region and ultimately St. Kitts and Nevis.
“Such institutions facilitate our response to pressing globalisation circumstances, while we lay for ourselves in the region, the economic framework that would assist our nations to survive the global challenges.
“Everything must have a start and the CSME, for example, is important to us in the long term. We must ensure that evolution results in significant benefits to our country and it would happen when our people embrace and respond to the regional opportunities,” he said.