Tourism Officials Plan Way Forward for Industry

(ZIZ News) – Stakeholders in the Tourism Industry met on Wednesday to discuss the goals and objectives necessary in charting the way forward for Tourism in the Federation.

The annual Stakeholders’ Meeting saw Minister of Tourism, Hon. Lindsay Grant relaying welcome remarks and challenging those present to work toward creating the ultimate experience for visitors.

“It cannot be business as usual. The days of business as usual are over; we are in a competitive environment. We are in a competitive industry and the cream must rise to the top and so St. Kitts must not only shine in the region but also in the global marketplace,” the Minister said.

“Therefore, our challenge, your challenge is to ensure that, whatever stakeholder you are, we deliver the best quality of service to our very discerning visitor,” he continued.

Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Racquel Brown said the success of the industry is based on strategic marketing.

“The constraints we have are very real and so decisions that we make to market are very strategic. They are very geo-targeted because we are competing with destinations that have more money than us and they also have room stock that’s more than us. Nevertheless we move forward and we accept that we will have challenges but we have to each time decide what our formula is and our formula is innovative and be creative,” Brown said.

The annual Stakeholder’ Meeting came one day after the annual Marketing Meeting.

Every year, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority hosts a series of meetings to review the destination’s existing strategies and tactics for reaching potential visitors.

Over a two to three-day period, new opportunities are examined and likely areas for adjustment identified, based on the current marketplace conditions and predictions.