BASSETERRE (30th October, 2013): A motorcade to celebrate the start of the tourism cruise season will take place this coming Sunday starting at 1pm from Port Zante.
The Tourism Motorcade is being organized by various stakeholders in the tourism industry and spearheaded by the two local taxi associations and the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.
“This will be the biggest motorcade this country has ever seen,” said Andrew ‘Talbo’ Bass, President of the Liamigua Taxi association. “We are expecting a very good cruise season and so we want to start the season with a bang and let everybody know just how important tourism is to the Federation.”
The St. Kitts Tourism Authority has projected that for the 2013-2014 cruise season close to 800,000 passengers will come to St. Kitts from more than 300 port calls.
Bass pointed out that everybody who works in the tourism industry is invited to participate in the motorcade.
“However, tourism is you, tourism is me… tourism is all of us,” Bass said. “So everybody who lives in St. Kitts and Nevis is invited and should be in this motorcade.”
Acting CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Carolyn James, said the motorcade will highlight the fact that the tourism sector is vitally important to our country and that we all need to better understand, support, and protect tourism as one of the key drivers of our economy.
“Whether you benefit directly or indirectly from tourism, my hope is that as many of us as possible will use this opportunity to learn more about our country, the business of tourism, and the needs of our customers,” James said. “Is at the same time each of us better appreciates the value of tourism to our local economy, it would go a long way to ensuring that this vital sector is competitive and remains sustainable in the years to come.”
The Tourism Motorcade, which is expected to have music and floats, will start from Port Zante and flow west through Boyds, Old Road and Sandy Point, and end back on Port Zante where a huge fete has been organized to bring an end to the motorcade.