St Kitts and Nevis has 27 cruise call in November and 51 in December, says Minister Grant

Basseterre: St Kitts and Nevis is bolstering cruise tourism towards a positive direction as authorities chart a safe and secure balance between an outstanding visitor experience as well mitigating the risks of COVID-19 to citizens and residents of the Federation.

During a press briefing at the Royal St Kitts hotel, Tourism Minister, Lindsey Grant provided an update on the first two months of the winter session being executed in a phased manner following a delayed start due to global pandemic.

Tourism Minister said that St Kitts and Nevis has 18 ship days in the month of November, which means over 27 cruise calls. For the first time since March 13, 2020, the Federation will receive 3 ships on the same day for 16 and 23 November and two ship calls on 4, 10, 17 November at Port Zante, St Kitts.

According to the Minister, a total of 71,775 passengers are projected to visit St Kitts and Nevis in November through cruise ships. All passengers will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Terming November as a pretty good start, the tourism Minister announced that December 2021 has a better schedule for cruise calls.

He added that Saint Kitts and Nevis has already scheduled to receive over 51 cruise calls which translate into 119,146 estimated visitors in the Federation. “there is a need for us to manage our expectations and to understand that this is a phased approach for the resumption by both the cruise lines and our destination,” he added.

As the scheduled visits have significantly Increased, the cruise lines have said that they are currently operating with 40 to 60% of their fleet capacity as they continue to adhere to COVID-19 protocols.

In a bid to expand economic benefits for local tourism operators, Minister Grant said that both the Ministry of health and the national COVID-19 task force are in discussions to expand the opportunities for visitors.

Lindsey Grant expressed cautious optimism about the upcoming future of tourism, given that the ongoing COVID-19 can cause a dramatic change. While encouraging a society approach in building the tourism sector, Minister Lindsey Grant added that the Ministry will continue to build on successes achieved over the past few months.