Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
April 09, 2008 (SKNIS)
The forecast by the Caribbean World Travel and Tourism Council that St. Kitts and Nevis will register the second highest tourism growth in the region of 5.6 percent, has been welcomed by local officials who stress that efforts must continue to consolidate the gains.
This week, Unoma Allen, Corporate Communications Manager of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, appeared on SKNIS’ radio magazine programme, Perspectives and noted that the expansion of services with American Airlines and the newly formed relationship with Delta Airlines operating from Atlanta has yielded satisfactory results.
“This sort of information [comes] from the efforts that have been taking place over prior years and what we are doing now,” she stated. “Our destination is now open to many more people and as you’ve heard time and time again, Atlanta is the largest international airline hub in the world.”
The 2007-2008 cruise ship season has also seen strong performances as a record number of excursionists are scheduled to visit.
Ms. Allen explained that approximately 70 percent of tourist arrivals originate from the United States and revealed that her agency and other partners such as the Ministries of Finance and Sustainable Development were keeping an eye on the slowdown of the U.S. economy. She said that adjustments in the tourism strategy will be made accordingly to address any shortcomings.
The St. Kitts Tourism Authority is also focusing on boosting arrivals from the Canada and the United Kingdom.
“We do have the direct Excel flight every Monday from Gatwick Airport “¦ and we are making avenues available to more individuals within the U.K. to access our island,” the Communication Manager stated adding, that promotional activities by the division in London is a huge part of this initiative. “That is a market through which we hope we will be able to garner more arrivals.”
An official stated that the broad diversification strategy being implemented by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis economy will serve to cushion any shortfalls in a particular area, thus lessening the impact to the local economy.