Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS): Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Marsha Henderson, during the Tourism Press Conference on October 26 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, expressed that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is expected to host 342 cruise ships for this year’s tourism season.
She said, “For the upcoming season, we will welcome a total of 342 cruise calls, promising an influx of visitors yearning to explore the wonders of our island and our paradise, notably, we eagerly await the arrival of the magnificent ‘Icon of the Seas’, the largest ship in the world.”
The Icon of the Seas is set to arrive on January 30th, boasting a capacity of 7600 passengers.
She also highlighted that “If we are to increase the benefits of tourism, we must experience a cultural shift and we can achieve this by focusing on a number of areas.”
She went on to explain that the current tourism product is a strong, unique and fresh tourism product, focused on achieving a strategic marketing plan, collaboration among stakeholders and agencies, improved accessibility to the destination, increased room stock and acquiring a sustainable and resilient industry.
She added that a key objective within the sector is to create a more outstanding balance between the cruise and stayover visitors and increase visitor spend.
“We have also observed an increase in luxury vessels and the presence of such luxury vessels signifies the greater spending power on the island, cementing our position as a premier tourist destination,” Minister Henderson said.