St. Kitts Tourism Authority Welcomes New CEO

Basseterre, St. Kitts (August 5, 2008) – The St. Kitts Tourism Authority today announces that Mrs. Rosecita Jeffers has been appointed its new CEO effective as of Friday, August 1, 2008.

A Kittitian native, Mrs. Jeffers has successfully operated her own tourism and special events management business on St. Kitts for the past four years.  During that time, she also undertook various key special projects for tourism, including serving as the local consultant liaison to the Boston-based OTF Group, who conducted research in 2006 for the development of St. Kitts’ long term tourism sector strategy.  Prior to her private enterprise experience, Mrs. Jeffers worked for several years as a member of the management team at the St. Kitts & Nevis Ministry of Tourism.  She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI), where she was trained in tourism and hospitality.  Her appointment to CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority is for a term of three years in the first instance.

“Mrs. Jeffers is well suited to lead our Tourism Authority as we strive to develop a more proactive organization that is focused on the competitive needs of the marketplace as well as the needs of our tourism stakeholders and local people,” said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism, Sports & Culture.  “Her entrepreneurial spirit combined with her extensive knowledge and understanding of our island’s tourism product are qualities that will be invaluable in her position.  Her appointment is further evidence of our government’s commitment to empowering local people and cultivating local leadership in the tourism sector.”

Located in the northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, St. Kitts offers a diverse tourism product developed from the destination’s natural beauty, cultural heritage and rich history.  The island’s stunning variety of tourism attractions include hiking through the tropical rainforest, riding the scenic railway that connects the island’s sugar plantations, touring Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean, and the more traditional vacation pastimes such as watersports, golf, shopping, tennis, gourmet dining, gaming at one of St. Kitts’ two casinos or simply relaxing on one of the island’s sandy beaches.  Guests can select from accommodations ranging from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels or resorts. 

For more information about St. Kitts, please contact the St. Kitts Tourism Authority toll free from the US at 1-800-582-6208 or from Canada 1-888-395-4887, e-mail info@stkittstourism.kn or visit the website at www.stkittstourism.kn.