St. Kitts highlighted in British Airways BABeachside Extravaganza Bank Holiday Monday, 26th August 2013, Brighton, UK

London – 26 August 2013: Over 200 ‘passengers’ experienced a unique and very special ‘dine in the sky’ experience with St. Kitts and British Airways when St. Kitts was highlighted as part of a British Airways #BABeachside extravaganza in Brighton over the UK’s August Bank Holiday.

The six-day beachside event, which showcased one participating British Airways destination per day, highlighted St. Kitts on Monday 26 August, as thousands of people visited the popular seafront resort over the Bank Holiday weekend. On St. Kitts Day, up to 400 promotional sticks of Brighton rock were handed out each hour by British Airways uniformed ambassadors, offering access to the British Airways and St. Kitts ‘pop up’ Beach Lounge. For the lucky few, the sweet treat unveiled the very special prize to take the unique British Airways St. Kitts flight, where ‘passengers’ enjoyed a delicious Caribbean menu 100ft in the air, overlooking stunning views of Brighton. The half-hour flight with 22 passengers on board took off 11 times, hosting a total of 242 passengers throughout the day.

Up to 6,000 visitors also enjoyed the best of St. Kitts hospitality with complimentary drinks, destination video, music and entertainment getting everyone in the holiday mood at the British Airways and St. Kitts ‘pop up’ Beach Lounge.

Minister of Tourism & International Transport, Senator Ricky Skerritt, said, “We were delighted to be part of the British Airways Dine in the Sky experience in Brighton; and to host the lucky diners in the sky as well as all those who visited the beach lounge. British Airways has once again shown amazing ingenuity in the creation of their destination promotions and our continued partnership in such promotions is key to generating awareness of the destination and its success in the UK market.”

Colm Lacy, Head of Commercial at British Airways London Gatwick, said: “St. Kitts continues to be a popular destination for our customers who want to visit new and exciting destinations and, particularly in St. Kitts’ case, uncrowded and unspoilt. We are therefore pleased to have St. Kitts ‘on board’ once again on such an exciting promotion. Such initiatives grab consumers’ attention and are an excellent way to gain immediate visibility and awareness.”

The St. Kitts British Airways ‘Dine in the Sky’ (DITS) experience represents a tourist board first for St. Kitts Tourism Authority, one of only six destinations to participate. The experience was seen by an estimated quarter of a million visitors who descended on Brighton beach over the August Bank Holiday with additional presence on British Airways Facebook and homepage. The use of social networking such as Twitter and Instragram offered an additional promotional element via sharing and engagement.

St. Kitts is currently served twice weekly on Saturday and Tuesday from London Gatwick by British Airways, the first scheduled carrier to provide regular airlift to the island. The aircraft is a three class, 280 seat Boeing 777, holding 40 Club World seats, 24 World Traveller Plus and 216 World Traveller seats.