St Kitts and Nevis to ease COVID-19 restrictions from Feb 12

Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister of Federation of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Timothy Harris has indicated boost in the tourism sector of the twin-island Federation. The following statement was released by PM Harris while addressing the monthly press conference on February 10, 2022, which has taken place in National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Lime Kiln.

The island's tourism sector has been one of the sectors that have been worst affected due to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the economy, livelihoods, public services, and opportunities.

While addressing the press conference, Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris said, "While not yet close to the buoyancy of 2018 and 2019, the 2021-2022 cruise season (October 21 to September 22) is off to an encouraging start with 158 cruise calls so far and 138,022 cruise passengers."

PM Harris further added that, "This compares well to the 2020-2021 season when for nine months (October 2020 to June 20210 there were almost zero number of cruise calls and consequently zero passengers arrival to the nation."

He further added that following the restrictions on travel, which the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, cruise ships have been sailing below their maximum capacity as a precautionary health measure.

He further said that, "Air travel has witnessed a drastic boost as compared to last year's air passenger arrivals."

As per the recent data, "For January 2022, around 6.683 passengers have landed in the Federation, up 5,324 over the 1,350 passengers recorded in 2021. It is considered a great start to this year compared to 2021."