BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Hon. Lindsay Grant, Minister with Responsibility for Tourism, which is one of the Federation’s major economy drivers, believes that the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has brought benefits to St. Kitts and Nevis during the tourism off season.
It was reported that Grant and officials at the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Authority have been pushing for the Federation to break into new markets, and that the CPL was an excellent choice.
During an interview with SKNVibes, the Minister was asked about possibly lobbying CPL to confirm dates well in advance so that the government could plan for the off season, to which he said that from a tourism standpoint, the concept of the tournament is to draw people to the islands during the downtime, and that it has done just that.
He noted that by doing so, there is no reason to lobby for changes though the tournament has broadened its window to September this year.
In the four-year history of the tournament, it has been primarily held in July and August, but for this season, the organizers are hosting the event in the August to September window.
“As you would recognize, again it is coming during the off season. Yes, later down, but still in the off season,” Grant said. “And if you were to speak to anyone from the Marriott, they would tell you that when CPL is here the hotel is at 100 percent capacity.”
Stressing that empirical data is there to support that CPL is benefiting St. Kitts and Nevis, Grant pointed out that it is now for them to ensure that that time slot is kept in the off season.
The Minister was adamant that having more activities during the off season in St. Kitts should be the drive of his Ministry in order to attract more visitors to the island.
He added: “That is really what should be the emphasis and the drive.”
But the Minister reiterated that though the dates for the tournament are not often confirmed in terms of exactness, they know that it is staged during the off season, either in July or August.
He noted that they often collaborate with the organizers, whether it be daily or weekly, to ensure that they are in sync with them.
Last year, St. Kitts and Nevis was host to the Finals of the competition, but sports officials and the government decided against bidding to return the event to Warner Park.
Minister Grant stressed that an economic impact study that was previously done had highlighted the financial benefits derived from hosting the matches, which he declared were in the millions.
“There are pluses for having CPL in St. Kitts and Nevis,” he declared.
The tournament has reached millions of homes globally, thus allowing small islands within the region to showcase their tourism product - through short videos - during various segments of the games.
That has allowed islands such as St. Kitts and Nevis to push its brand in markets that it cannot often reach due to financial constraints.
This year, the Federation will only stage the St. Kitts-Nevis Patriots’ four home matches, which will be play at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium from August 18 to 23.
