Last Updated on August 22, 2020, 9:49 AM AST by Anthony Morris
A UK-based company, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, has announced that the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis would be a port of call in the 2021/2022 itinerary of the country.
The fleet would dock at Port Zante of St Kitts as part of the Winter Sunshine Program of the company.
Supported by the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme of the island, last year, Port Zante was upgraded to increase the vessel capacity and can now host up to three world-class vessels at the same time.
Fred Olsen held a virtual tour where over 50,000 future visitors saw the different scheduled ports, including St Kitts.
The country recently announced that it would open its international borders in October after it registered only 17 cases and no deaths.
In the wake of preparations for the reopening of the borders of the country, 5,000 tourism industry stakeholders would be trained.
The Minister of Tourism, Lindsay Grant, highlighted the importance of the collaboration between St Kitts and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.
He said that this was a clear indication that the attractions of the islands, tours and services offer a great appeal to cruise visitors.
He said that now, as the country gets ready to reopen tourism, the country must continue to work together to maintain the physical product standards and ensure the health and safety protocols which are being adhered to by the tourism stakeholders, to provide the visitors with the premier guest experience.
Before the start COVID-19 pandemic, the cruise sector of the country saw an increase in the visitors with the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association naming the country as a marquee destination.
The federation also reached the milestone of one million cruise passengers for the second year in a row in 2019. St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI Programme partly sponsored the expansion of the Port Zante.
The Programme supports socio-economic initiatives on the island, particularly within the tourism sector.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
