KITTS TOURISM AUTHORITY CELEBRATES RECORD AIRLIFT AT RECENT MARKETING MISSION TO CANADA

Ellison ‘Tommy’ Thompson, CEO (left) and Melnecia Marshall, Deputy CEO (right) with the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Marsha T. Henderson (centre) in Toronto, Canada.

Basseterre, St. Kitts (November 2023) – A St. Kitts delegation headed by the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Marsha T. Henderson, and joined by Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, CEO, and Melnecia Marshall, Deputy CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, recently returned from a successful marketing mission to Canada where the destination proudly touted its record 66 per cent increase in airlift with Air Canada that will begin in November. Over the multi-day visit, the delegation participated in meetings with the airline, conducted multiple media interviews and hosted two unique events, one for the travel trade industry and the other aimed at the country’s top journalists and social media influencers.

“Following the launch of Venture Deeper last year, we are seeing an unprecedented surge of interest in St. Kitts from Canada with an incredible 500 per cent increase in visitation,” said the Hon. Minister. “Air Canada’s decision to add a second flight with departures now available on Fridays and Saturdays, is a testament to the hard work we have put into the market. The 66 per cent increase in capacity is the most airlift we have ever had in Canada and puts St. Kitts on an upward trajectory that will continue to drive economic growth and support the livelihoods of Kittitians.”

After conducting successful meetings with Air Canada, the delegation hosted a special romance-themed travel industry event dubbed, “An Evening of Romance & Travel Trends”. Designed to highlight the island’s natural romanticism and further emphasize the destination’s push into the romance market, the event featured a keynote presentation from Alison McGill, Canada’s foremost authority on the romance industry. In 2023, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority inked a comprehensive collaboration with McGill, an award-winning writer, creative producer, media personality, romance influencer and host of the Aisle Seat podcast.

“With romance considered one of the fastest-growing sectors coming out of the pandemic, our collaboration with McGill is a strategic move for St. Kitts, helping us tap into her vast network and amplify the message that St. Kitts is tailor-made for romance,” said the Hon. Minister in her remarks.

Alison McGill delivering her keynote address on romance tourism in St. Kitts.

During her keynote, McGill noted that "Romantic travel is more important than ever.  Couples need to get away, get back to connecting with one another and St. Kitts is the dream destination for this because you can play in so many ways.”

She also noted that the post-pandemic destination wedding market is booming and something that will continue well into 2025. Following a destination wedding dress fashion show, the evening wrapped up with a “fireside discussion” featuring Alison McGill, CEO Thompson and DCEO Marshall, who recreated the conversation around a recent podcast episode on Aisle Seat.  Drawing on the brand’s campaign slogan, “Venture Deeper”, the trio discussed how couples can easily dive into the culture and have more meaningful travel experiences in St. Kitts.

Following a fashion show, the CEO, DCEO and Alison McGill chatted about the destination
and took questions from travel agents.

“We are always looking to promote St. Kitts as a trendsetting destination and thought leader and this lively event and discussion was representative of how we show our unique Kittitian flavour to the world,” said the Hon. Minister. “It was an invaluable opportunity to firm up partnerships and create conversation around how St. Kitts is a top destination for romance.”

The following evening the delegation hosted a large contingent of Toronto’s top travel and lifestyle media, from writers and editors, to broadcasters, influencers and more for “The Joys of Rum”. The event played on St. Kitts’ history as a leading producer of sugar in the Caribbean and the growing interest in its emerging rum scene that the St. Kitts Tourism Authority ignited following the launch of the popular Kittitian RumMaster program earlier this year.

The event was held at BarChef in Toronto, regarded as one of Toronto’s trendiest cocktail bars and owned by Frankie Solarik, the famed mixologist who appears on the Netflix show “Drink Masters”. Following a keynote address from the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Marsha T. Henderson, the media guests were treated to an immersive cocktail lesson on how to make St. Kitts-inspired craft cocktails from Kittitian rum expert and owner of Hibiscus Spirits, Roger Brisbane. Following the cocktail lesson, Brisbane and the BarChef team challenged the guests to create their own St. Kitts style rum punch, using a variety of ingredients, including rum from several suppliers such as Hibiscus Spirits, Brinley Gold Shipwreck Rum, CSR Rum and Old Road Rum, who all participated by shipping in rum for the occasion.

Roger Brisbane of Hibiscus Spirits provided a history of St. Kitts rum and conducted
a craft cocktail lesson for the media attendees.

“We know that Canadians are some of the world’s most passionate foodies and they love to travel for immersive culinary experiences, so in crafting our first Canadian media event, we were excited to share our rum history and highlight our incredible Kittitian rum makers in front of such an influential audience,” said Ellison ‘Tommy’ Thompson, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “The event energized and excited the Canadian media on our distinctive rum story and gave them a reason to visit and write about us. It also helped us solidify so many important media relationships so that we can attract these credible voices to our destination for years to come.”

The St. Kitts delegation at the media event, led by
Minister of Tourism, Hon. Marsha T. Henderson.

During the visit, the Hon. Minister and the St. Kitts Tourism Authority delegation conducted a number of media interviews, resulting in multiple feature stories about the destination, in outlets including Canadian Travel Press, Travel Courier, WheelsUp Network, Open Jaw, Travelweek and Travelpulse Canada. Interview coverage captured live at the media event will also appear as upcoming segments on Caribbean Vibrations TV, North America’s only Caribbean-focused entertainment, lifestyle and culture TV show on broadcast television, consistently on air for over a decade. The show caters to the over 25 million tourists that travel to the Caribbean every year of which 3 million are Canadian. The show reaches over 200,000 households in Ontario per week and broadcasts in over 22 Caribbean territories, as well as to the U.S. Tri-State area, totalling 1.75 million households.

“Our successful mission to Canada was just more proof of the destination’s growing global appeal and we are excited to see how consumers, the media and travel industry are responding to all we have to offer,” said the Hon. Minister. “Most importantly we are seeing remarkable enthusiasm from Canadians for our authentic qualities. They want to immerse themselves in our culture and create connections with our people – it is the kind of tourism we want to create in St. Kitts – growth that feeds everyone’s self interests. Our rich experiences, culture, beauty and people are fuelling this extraordinary arc of progress.”

All photos credit to: Jason Lee, Streamline7Media