Island Authorities Meet With Key Association Executives at a Breakfast in Toronto
Basseterre, St. Kitts (August 28, 2015) – Wednesday morning, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority hosted a special breakfast exclusively for key members of Canadian St. Kitts & Nevis associations at the Toronto Hilton hotel, discussing the events of this week and the island’s tourism strategy moving forward as well as the latest developments on island. The attending executives had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry and Commerce, and Racquel Brown, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
In his opening remarks, Minister Grant posed a question to the attendees. He asked them what the most popular sport is in Canada. When everyone replied that it was hockey, Minister Grant surprised them by saying that in fact, the most popular sport in Canada is golf.
“There are 6 million golfers in Canada and those who travel internationally to play golf spend $4.5 billion, so this is a huge potential market for St. Kitts & Nevis,” stated Minister Grant. “Further, more golfers live and play in the province of Ontario than any other region of Canada. That is why, earlier this week, we announced our partnership with the Golf Association of Ontario specifically to help us promote the destination to these individuals.”
Speaking specifically about the Canadian market, Minister Grant continued, “Canada currently represents six percent of the total visitors into St. Kitts & Nevis, however our goal is to grow that number to nine percent over the next five years. We have several new hotel developments opening over the next two years that need to be supported, including Park Hyatt St. Kitts, Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Kitts and Koi Resort & Residences.”
Many attendees expressed concern that all the new tourism growth could disturb the natural tranquility and charm of St. Kitts. Upon hearing this, Minister Grant reminded them that all the new developments are spread throughout the island and not concentrated in any one area.
“Kittitian Hill is located in the northwestern part of the island, while Christophe Harbour is on the southeast peninsula, Embassy Suites is being developed at Pelican Bay and the Koi Resort is under construction in Half Moon Bay,” said Minister Grant. “Please be assured that growth will not be explosive. After we roll out these new properties, we will reevaluate our position as we have always been about managed growth.”
The productive two-way dialog during the breakfast also included the possibility of extending Air Canada peak season service and how integral the Diaspora are to all of St. Kitts’ efforts in the Canadian marketplace.
Among the attendees were H. E. Mrs. Shirley Skerritt-Andrew, the Honorary Consul General Mr. John Allen, the Consulate of St. Kitts & Nevis Mr. Kressell Daniel, President of the St. Kitts & Nevis Canadian Association of Toronto Mr. Randolph Edmead, Vice President of the St. Kitts & Nevis Canadian Association of Toronto Joan Warner-Griffin, Jennet Maynard and Asquith Williams of Circle of Care, Eudora Nisbett and four members of NevCan - Louisa Manners, Kenneth Liburd, Chantelle Selkridge and Hugh Jeffers.
About St. Kitts
St. Kitts is currently ranked, with sister island Nevis, at #3 on a list of the Best Islands in the World, #3 on a list of the Best Caribbean Vacations, and #7 on a list of the Best Beach Honeymoon Destinations in the World, #8 on a list of Best Caribbean Honeymoons, and #8 on a list of the Best Affordable Caribbean Destinations by US News & World Report. It is also currently ranked at #7 among the Hottest Places to Travel this Winter by CNN Money based on bookings received by Virtuoso, #8 on a list of the Top 10 Best Islands for a Holiday by Places To See In Your Lifetime, #14 on a list of the 50 Travel Destinations That Will Be Huge In The Next 10 Years as well as #8 on a list of the 25 Best Caribbean Islands by Business Insider, one of the Top 12 Best Caribbean Vacations on FlipKey.com, the vacation rental company of leading travel website, TripAdvisor®. In 2014, LINKS Magazine included St. Kitts & Nevis in its newly created ranking of the Top 25 Islands in the world. St. Kitts & Nevis has also been named one of the Top 15 Emerging Travel Hotspots for 2015 by The Huffington Post and has been ranked by The New York Times at #34 of the 52 Places to Go in 2015. In addition, St. Kitts received the “Innovative Destination of the Year” Award in Caribbean Journal’s Caribbean Travel Awards 2014.
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, visit www.stkittstourism.kn, or connect on Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube.
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