St. Kitts & Nevis is pleased to once again welcome visitors to its shores beginning October 31, 2020. In order to ensure a responsible reopening of its borders, the Federation is the last Caribbean destination to do so.
The CDC recently assessed the Federation’s Covid-19 risk as very low and designated it as “No Travel Notice” required, having had only 19 cases of the Coronavirus, no community spread and no deaths.
“We have been working diligently to prepare for this reopening to ensure that we are ready to welcome travelers by training and certifying local businesses and individuals in the health and safety protocols they are required to meet and be certified in to be permitted to operate,” said the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, Transport and Ports. “This is particularly important as we encourage visitors to explore our islands beyond their hotels to experience what makes us a unique, authentic and quintessential Caribbean experience.”
The Hon. Mark Brantley, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Aviation, added, “The genuinely friendly people of St. Kitts & Nevis are a key component of our tourism product, so the protocols we have established aim to provide for their safety in interacting with visitors as well as visitors’ safety in interacting with our people. It is critical to travelers’ perceptions of St. Kitts & Nevis as a safe and desirable destination of choice as well as to citizens and residents own safety in embracing their return.”
The twin-island Federation has received international recognition of their successful management of the first wave of the global pandemic as a result of early and aggressive testing, contact tracing and quarantine program along with an “All of Society Approach” that includes mask-wearing in public, social distancing and sanitization protocols to ensure everyone’s health and safety. Key outlets such as the BBC, Sky News and Tripoto have named St. Kitts & Nevis among the few countries in the world to have effectively “beat” the virus.
Ongoing and careful consultation with the Chief Medical Officer and Ministry of Health to fully develop and implement health and safety protocols for the entire industry was paramount to ensure the well-being of all citizens, residents and visitors. In fact, for business to reopen, tourism industry businesses, employers and employees must undergo “Travel Approved” training for their respective sector/business/department and upon completion of the training they receive the “Travel Approved” Certification and Seal. The “Travel Approved” Certification and Seal provides assurance to citizens, residents and visitors the destination is ensuring health and safety protocols are not compromised in St. Kitts & Nevis and can be trusted.
It was only then St. Kitts & Nevis decided to reopen its borders.