St Kitts Tourism Authority woos agents in Scotland for first time

The St Kitts Tourism Authority has held its first agent events in Scotland as part of a roadshow that also included trade meetings in London and Oxford.

The tourist board said its commitment to travel agents – alongside increased hotel distribution and advertising campaigns with British Airways – is delivering results. 

Visitor arrivals from the UK climbed by 10% year-on-year in the period from January to September.

Jonette Boyd, the authority’s marketing and communications manager, and Suzy Trott, UK trade sales representative, led the trade mission, which included a “lunch and learn” event during afternoon tea at the Ham Yard Hotel in London with top Caribbean sellers; agent events in Oxford and Glasgow; and a training session over breakfast with Barrhead Travel.

The itinerary also featured individual appointments with tour operators and travel agents including Hays Travel, Travel Republic, Lotus Travel and Hummingbird Travel, as well as a cocktail-making master class with Kuoni in London to launch the destination to the company’s retail managers. 

Kuoni will start selling St Kitts from November, which will be the first time since 2019. Hotels featured in Kuoni’s St Kitts programme include Park Hyatt St Kitts, Royal St Kitts Hotel, Sunset Reef and St Kitts Marriott Beach Resort.

The dedicated agent events, held at The Malmaison Hotel in Oxford and The Dakota Hotel in Glasgow, comprised networking with drinks and canapes, a presentation on the latest tourism developments in St Kitts, and a prize draw.

Kelly Fontenelle, chief executive of the St Kitts Tourism Authority, said: “We’re delighted with the strong performance of the UK market and excited to be tapping into a new market in Scotland.