Basseterre, St. Kitts – The St. Kitts Tourism Authority (SKTA) has completed an action-packed, week-long visit to the UK travel trade, designed to elevate agent engagement and drive bookings to the Caribbean’s sugar Isle.
Led by Jonette Boyd, Marketing and Communications Manager for St. Kitts Tourism Authority, the visit began with Unite Caribbean in London on 10 March, where SKTA held individual meetings with 21 UK tour operators, followed by the Caribbean by the Coast in Bexhill-on-Sea, on 11 March, and culminated in a dedicated travel agent event, coordinated by St. Kitts in partnership with Nevis Tourism Authority, on 13 March. Jonette Boyd was joined by Suzy Trott, UK Trade Sales Representative for St. Kitts Tourism Authority, and Cari Abonador-Alexander, Director of Sales and Marketing for Park Hyatt St. Kitts. The itinerary also included individual webinars and visits to tour operators and travel agents, including Travel Bag and Audley Travel.
St. Kitts sponsored the pre-dinner canapes and cocktails at the Caribbean by the Coast event and served Kittitian rum-based cocktails to a delighted group of more than 30 travel agent guests. As part of a business card prize draw, St. Kitts Tourism Authority gave away a place on an upcoming four-night travel agent fam to the island, which was won by Penny Brown of Godalming Travel.
The dedicated travel agent event, held at The Ivy Chelsea Garden in London, was attended by 25 independent travel agencies and homeworkers and was the first in a series of quarterly trade events that the St. Kitts Tourism Authority will hold, in partnership with Nevis Tourism Authority, this year. The evening comprised networking over drinks and bowl food, presentations from St. Kitts and Nevis, and a prize draw. Megan Harris from Travel Republic won a place on an upcoming St. Kitts Tourism Authority fam, and Laverne Walker from Sackville Travel was lucky enough to take home a bottle of spiced Kittitian rum, as part of the prize draw.
Kelly Fontenelle, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, said: “Last year, we shifted our trade focus from one annual trade roadshow to a series of quarterly in-person events with travel agents and tour operators. It has proved highly successful, and we are continuing that strategy for 2025 alongside other activities, including increased visits to retail travel agencies, training via webinars, incentives, and family visits.
“As an unconventional Caribbean destination, it’s important to keep the trade informed about our product and how best to sell the island to their customers. Agents are invaluable in driving visitation to St. Kitts, and we’re proud to have over 4,000 UK agents registered to My St. Kitts Rewards and 1,500 agents registered to our online training programme, www.stkittsspecialist.com.”
For destination expertise and additional learning tools, agents can visit www.stkittsspecialist.com. On top of this, the dedicated reward programme earns agents £50 per booking logged on www.stkittsrewards.com all year round. St. Kitts can be easily reached from the UK via twice-weekly, direct flights from London Gatwick with British Airways.