St. Kitts open for business following passage of Hurricane Omar
** Island Sees Minimal Damage and Is Welcoming Guests **
~~Adz:Left~~ Basseterre, St. Kitts (October 16, 2008) – The St. Kitts Tourism Authority is pleased to report that St. Kitts is welcoming guests and has sustained only minimal damage following the passage of Hurricane Omar to the Northwest of the island in the pre-dawn hours on Thursday morning.
No visitors were evacuated from St.Kitts and all are reported to be safe. Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport has reopened as of 12:00 pm today. Some standing water remains in low-lying regions of the island and a certain amount of beach erosion has occurred, primarily on the island’s Western side, which experienced the strongest of the storm surge. There has been no serious damage to hotels, most of which have already been reopened for business.
“We were fortunate that the storm was compact in nature with winds and rain not extending far enough from its center to more significantly impact St. Kitts,” said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism, Sports & Culture. “We have completed a thorough, island-wide damage assessment and I am pleased to report that all visitors are safe, the island’s tourism product remains intact, and clean-up efforts are already underway in affected areas.”
Located in the Leeward Islands of the Eastern Caribbean, St. Kitts offers a diverse tourism product developed from the destination’s natural beauty, diverse cultural heritage and rich history. The island’s stunning variety of tourism attractions include hiking through the tropical rainforest, riding the scenic railway that connects the island’s former sugar plantations, touring Brimstone Hill Fortress, the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean, and the more traditional vacation pastimes such as water sports, golf, shopping, tennis, gourmet dining, gaming at one of St. Kitts’ two casinos or simply relaxing on one of the island’s sandy beaches. Guests can select from accommodations ranging from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels or resorts.
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, or visit the website at www.stkittstourism.kn.
