BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CLOSE to 50 travel agents from the United States (US) and Canada will be arriving in St. Kitts for the nation’s inaugural Annual Travel Agent Symposium which runs from May 27-31.
Internationally acclaimed travel agents such as Florida-based American Express Centurion, California’s Broadway Travel, Dream World Travel of Connecticut and Ontario-based Coretravel will be represented at the tourism event. The four-day event is jointly hosted by the St. Kitts Tourism Authority and the Nevis Tourism Authority and will include training workshops, networking sessions, inspection of properties, an exploration of the sister island of Nevis and leisure activities for the travel agents to experience the tourism product of the Federation.
According to Marketing/Communications Manager in the St. Kitts Tourism Authority Saju Ng’alla, the event is to familiarise North American travel agents with the tourism product of both islands. He said the event is a significant achievement and holds great benefit for the island as “if they are able to experience firsthand how wonderful St. Kitts is, they would be better able to sell it as a product”.
Chief Executive Officer Rosecita Jeffers of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority said the symposium is a key event in the marketing thrust of the islands, adding that the travel agent community would be able to experience the St. Kitts-Nevis tourism product for itself.
"This is a very exciting period for the destination as it symbolises our commitment to continuous destination awareness and marketing during these difficult economic times. While on island, the agents will be educated on the different elements of the tourism product with the aim of building destination awareness in order to increase their effectiveness in selling the destination," Jeffers said.
The Tourism CEO indicated that a number of local tourism stakeholders has been “extremely supportive” of the initiative and has partnered with the Tourism Authority to ensure that the on-island experience for the travel agents is “memorable”.
The Minister of State responsible for Tourism, Senator Richard Skerritt, is expected to address the travel agents at today’s welcoming ceremony.
