Birds: Big Bucks for St. Kitts?
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Simon Liao (photos provided by ITBA)
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-FOLLOWING several weeks of preliminary research, representatives of the International Taiwan Birding Association (ITBA) are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, today April 8th to propose bird watching as a viable and lucrative form of ecotourism for St. Kitts.
“We have found birding to be [Taiwan’s] most popular form of ecotourism [and] we think birding would good for the ecotourism in your country as well,” said Simon Liao, Chairman of the ITBA, at a presentation held yesterday, April 7th.
The chairman went on to explain the astronomical growth that birding has experienced in Tawain. “Though our website was set up only about two years ago…last year there were over 10 million hits.
We feel this website has been successful because of the excellent product and the birding experience stories we offer,” Liao said, adding that he felt St. Kitts also had the resources to have similar successes.
Though the ITBA has been reasonably successful in marketing a similar program to St. Lucia, Liao speculated that St. Kitts may have even more distinct species of birds than the 170 thus far documented in St. Lucia. ~~Adz:Right~~
“We had a birder visit St. Kitts and in just two weeks he saw 87 species. This is one reason we, the Taiwanese, have come here.”
One recent University of Georgia study on bird watching trends from 1994-2006 found that around 82 million Americans said “yes” to spending at least some portion of 100 days per year to “view, identify, or photograph birds outdoors.”
When asked by SKNVibes.com how much money a birding tour guide could expect to make, Liao said that in St. Lucia tours generally cost around US $200-300 per day. On the ITBA website 13-day tours are available to customers for US $4000. Liao also stated that he believed if a person had an interest in birding and was willing to study the subject, they could become a tour guide in a relatively short time.
If their business model for St. Kitts is approved by the government, the ITBA plans to implement a four-step plan consisting of publishing a St. Kitts bird book, developing a national bird watching website similar to Taiwan’s, promoting St. Kitts as an ecotourism destination at the United Kingdom’s annual Birdfair and marketing St. Kitts to various United States bird enthusiasts organizations and travel agents.
Additionally, Liao noted that if government approves the initiative, local bird lovers would be contracted for the stories and photos that would comprise the St. Kitts bird watching guide.
