Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 25, 2022 (SKNIS): The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis through the adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic, global conflict and inflation, has continued to show resilience as the tourism sector is flourishing.
Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Transport and Ports, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, during his press conference on March 24, stated that travel around the world and in particular to St. Kitts and Nevis is on the rebound.
He said, “In February of 2022, the destination welcomed 6354 air travel arrivals which is a dramatic increase of 638.81% when compared to our measly 860 arrivals for the same period in 2021.”
“Our careful and strategic easing of restrictions has made the destination more accessible to those who are desirous of a vacation after almost two years of restricted travel,” he added.
He continued, “As we end this first quarter of the year 2022, it is evident that our performance and the already realized rebound of global travel have restored a new sense of anticipation and confidence of the future.”
“On Friday 18, March 2022, the United Kingdom announced the complete lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions thus making it easier for individuals to travel to and from the United Kingdom,” he stated.
Minister Grant also stated that the Government of Canada also announced an easing of restrictions. The Government of Canada states effectivel April 1, 2022, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer need to provide a pre-entry COVID-19 test result to enter Canada by air, land or sea.
He also stated that “On Monday, March 2022, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) downgraded the risk level for travel to St. Kitts from a four to a three, and at a level three, the CDC advises travelers to ensure that they are fully vaccinated before traveling to destinations within this category, whereas at a level four, travelers are advised not to travel to destinations within the level four category.”
He, however, said that the world cannot afford to let down its guard just yet.
“Over the past two months, we have seen the rapid increase and fall of the Omicron cases globally as we continue to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the calm that we anticipated with the decrease in the COVID cases, has once again been threatened by global events which include the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and the highest inflation rates to be reported in over 40 years,” Minister Grant said.