PM Douglas says dramatic increase in visitor arrivals is a result of creative economic policies his Labour Party government

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JANUARY 8TH 2010 (CUOPM) - The governing St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party of Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has dramatically changed the economic and social landscape of the twin-island Federation and opened up new vistas of opportunity for the people since taking office.
 
“We have been a Party and Government of Action,” Dr. Douglas told thousands of jubilant supporters at a meeting Thursday at which he announced a January 25th date for general elections.
 
Prime Minister Douglas reminded the massive meeting that when his Labour Party Administration took office in July 1995 Port Zante lay idle with little prospect of economic activity because of its poor design and vulnerability to hurricanes and posed a serious environmental threat to the whole of Basseterre.
 
“But my Government expeditiously corrected the design defect and reinforced the entire facility through an extensive and expensive revetment project. Today, it is clear that our money was well spent because Port Zante has attracted vast amounts of foreign direct investment and has become a thriving cruise ship shopping and entertaining facility that rivals similar facilities in many of the top cruise ship destinations in the Caribbean. Indeed Port Zante has been at the centre of our strategy for boosting cruise tourism arrivals, which at present growth rates could approach a million passengers within 3 to 5 years,” said Dr. Douglas.
 
He reminded the crowd that when his government assumed office in 1995, the number of tourists coming to St. Kitts and Nevis by air and sea was less than 150,000.
 
“Today, more than half a million tourists come to our shores each year. Indeed, in the cruise sector alone, some 2.5 million passengers have come to our shores since we assumed office while, over the same period, under PAM only 745,000 cruise ship passengers came to our Federation,” said Dr. Douglas, pointing out that the impact of the resulting increased tourist expenditure is seen and felt throughout the entire economy.
 
“Our taxi drivers have felt it; our tour operators have felt it; our expanding array of restaurants have felt it; our craft-men and -women have felt it; our talented musician and performing artists have felt it; and our large number of small itinerant providers of goods and services that cater to the specific and varied needs of our visitors can now hold their own in our society as a result of their earnings from the tourism sector,” said Dr. Douglas.
 
He said that St. Kitts and Nevis has reaped massive benefits from the dramatic increase in visitor arrivals that has resulted from the creative economic policies of “my Government and our relentless marketing campaign that is generating a discernable buzz in the international tourist marketplace.”
 
“This is why the people of St. Kitts and Nevis have been advised that they should not look back and, in the words of the Holy Bible, become ‘pillar of salt’. We must continue to move forward with Labour,” said Prime Minister Douglas.