BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Jan.03.18 – MINISTER of Tourism, Hon. Lindsay Grant has explained that the increase in cruise passengers, and the increase in service around Port Zante seen during the Christmas and Boxing Day cruise days “would be the new normal” for the remainder of the season.
Grant told reporters recently that they are prepared for the thousands that are arriving to the shores of St. Kitts, during the peak of the season.
But, according to the Minister, what must be done is to ensure that “we are ready to receive those visitors”, that is guaranteeing that the customer service is on par, products top notch and the people are engaged to receive visitors.
“We have worked long and hard to ensure that we get these numbers that we are getting now, three and four and five cruise ships a day. That is not unusual for us, but it is to make sure that we can maintain that, and it is sustainable,” Grant explained.
The Minister said that they try their best at the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Authority to do that.
Looking at the busy Christmas and Boxing Days, Grant stated that they were concerned about security for the latter knowing that thousands of visitors were travelling to the island, while revelers were in Basseterre for J’ouvert.
“But all in all, I think it went well. But obviously we would go back to the drawing board to do a post mortem to see if there were any significant challenges that need corrections. But all in all, I think it was a fantastic two days.”
For 2018 though, the Minister disclosed that Port Zante is a work in progress.
“I can’t say that it is the best that it can be because there is room for lots of improvement. But we try on a daily basis, on a weekly basis.”
All in all, the Minister said, 2018 will see improvements on the side of the Ministry and the Tourism Authority in relation to the delivery of service.
The Ministry of tourism and by extension, the government is expecting a bumper season, with their projection being over one million passengers gracing the shores of St. Kitts.
In December, the island saw approximately 115 calls with over 300,000 passengers.
“We hope that with the advent of the second pier, we would have a much better customer experience,” Grant stated.
