The Caribbean destination understands that today’s travellers want more from a vacation
It is pretty clear that St. Kitts & Nevis has understood that today’s travellers want something more in a vacation. And the islands’ tourism experts are intent on giving that to them.
As Melnecia Marshall, Deputy CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, explained to Travel Courier on a recent visit to Canada: “St. Kitts is a very authentic experience and that is what we’re putting out there. We’re not trying to create something for the visitors. We want them to know that they can come and have an authentic Kittian experience – one that is off-the-beaten path and still have all of the traditional amenities that you would want in a vacation.”
Marshall was accompanying the Honourable Marsha Tamika Henderson, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, International Transport, Employment and Urban Development, who was in Toronto to deliver the keynote address at the Anguilla Nevis St. Kitts Reunion (ANSA) and to launch a new campaign aimed at the diaspora here in Canada.
And both Minister Henderson and Marshall were in good spirits during the visit as things seem to be going exceedingly well these days for St. Kitts & Nevis.
“For the first quarter of 2025, we’ve welcomed 46,641 visitors to St. Kitts … which represents a 15% increase year over year,” Minister Henderson told Travel Courier.
And the Minister continued: “For us, that significantly surpasses pre-pandemic figures which are our benchmark,” before pointing out that “in the 2024-2025 peak season, we recorded 78,077 arrivals and that outperformed the previous years as well.”
There’s further goods news as Air Canada has confirmed its return for the upcoming winter season, operating from Nov. 15, 2025 to April 25, 2026 using a 201-seat Airbus A321 – a significant upgrade from the 136-seat A319.
“It is certainly our time,” Marshall observed, noting that: “At the base of every visitor, there’s always going to be the request for sun, sand and sea and you can get that on any Caribbean island. What St. Kitts offers is that authentic immersive experience.”
And she added: “People don’t want to just look at something, they want to be a part of it and in St. Kitts, you can be a part of that experience.”
As for what accounts for the growing demand for the St. Kitts experience, Marshall said that: “One of the things that we really worked on was increasing the visibility of St. Kitts & Nevis. Many people were previously indicating that they’d never heard of St. Kitts or never visited St. Kitts and so, we increased our consumer activity, our PR and also our engagement with the [travel] trade.”
Those travel trade initiatives, she said, were designed to really drive demand for the destination by putting offers in the Canadian market that would incentivize travel, but also to sell the destination for what it is.
Here in Toronto, Minister Henderson launched St. Kitts & Nevis’ new ‘We Limin’ Campaign for the diaspora here in Canada.
The new campaign invites nationals and their descendants to return home, reunite with family, but also to act as brand ambassadors for St. Kitts & Nevis.
As well, the Minister also took the opportunity to remind the travel trade of the “Summer Unscripted” campaign that St. Kitts & Nevis has in the market here.
Minister Henderson told TC that the Summer Unscripted campaign has been designed “to drive demand for the destination during the shoulder period, outside of the winter season.”
And there is certainly a lot on offer during the shoulder or off season period, including the St. Kitts Music Festival, Restaurant Week (it’s actually 10 days), the Culturama Carnival on Nevis, CPL Cricket and more.
In this respect, Marshall points out that: “For the trade we want to tell them our destination is something that is unique and offers their clients an experience where they can fully immerse themselves in a destination and wander off-the-beaten path and find themselves.”
For Minister Henderson, the message to Canadians is straightforward: “We want you to come [and visit]. We have an amazing destination.”
