Honourable Lindsay Grant, Minister of Tourism, says the government and the Ministry of Tourism are committed to giving tourism the recognition and attention that it deserves.
Tourism Awareness Month, organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the St. Kitts Tourism Authority (SKTA) and other stakeholders, is slated for the period November 01-30, 2016 under the theme “Tourism Education: Connectivity for Sustainability”.
Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, said that Tourism Month coincides with the celebration of Caribbean Tourism Month, “thus creating a louder voice in the region reminding us all that tourism is everyone’s business.”
Minister Grant described tourism as a key revenue generator in the Federation.
“The tourism sector is widely acknowledged as the major engine of economic growth and social development in the Federation, employing approximately 25 percent of the nation’s workforce and contributing directly or indirectly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 25.5 percent,” said Minister Grant, during his address to commemorate Tourism Awareness Month 2016, commencing on Tuesday, November 01.
He further added that tourism is a crucial ingredient to continuous development as a nation and people.
“Tourism is indeed key to the continued growth and development of our economy, and we all need to make a conscious effort to keep abreast of what is happening in the tourism industry,” he said. “Other sectors of our economy are impacted by tourism – such as agriculture, local fisheries, handicrafts, entertainment, real estate, creative designs, engineering and construction. Tourism has therefore become important to all of us in some form or fashion. That is why it is important that individually and collectively, we all work to understand the various facets of our tourism industry.”
Throughout the month of November, the Ministry of Tourism and the St. Kitts Tourism Authority have planned a variety of activities including stakeholder meetings, workshops, a photo competition and exhibition, talks in primary and secondary schools, community outreach programmes, an Eco Tourism & Heritage Health Walk and a students’ field trip, to name a few. The activities are aimed at creating greater awareness of tourism and highlighting the fact that the tourism sector is vitally important to St. Kitts and Nevis.
Minister Grant said that the activities will also highlight the fact that “we all need to better understand, support, and protect tourism as one of the key drivers of our economy.”