St. Kitts and Nevis Target October for Reopening Borders
by Jessica Montevago /
The St. Kitts and Nevis government on Tuesday said it is planning to reopen the borders of the twin-island Federation to international tourism by October.
This would allow for the resumption of air and sea commercial traffic carrying international passengers into the Federation’s ports.
Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris said an expansive training program is underway to train 5,000 workers in the hospitality industry, led by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Civil Aviation. Hotels and tourism businesses will then receive a “Travel Approved” certification and seal that will be required for them to operate.
In conjunction with borders reopening, the Prime Minister announced that The St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Park Hyatt St. Kitts will reopen in October 2020. The Park Hyatt’s Fisherman’s Village reopened last week. Koi, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel, will reopen in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Royal St. Kitts Hotel is currently operating with reduced capacity. The Four Seasons Resort Nevis will soon announce reopening plans.
“Generally, the business confidence remains good” he said, “due largely to our excellent management of the economy prior to COVID-19 which saved lives and kept our citizens and residents safe.”
The destination has seen only 17 confirmed cases with zero active cases at this time and no deaths to date.
According to WorldBank, St. Kitts and Nevis welcomed 355 million tourists in 2017 and 367 million in 2018, with most of those tourists coming from the United States.