Above: St. Kitts Tourism Authority CEO, Kelly Fontenelle (left) and the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Marsha Henderson (right), stopped by the Air Canada Vacations Product Launch, held recently in Toronto, to meet with travel advisors and key travel partners.

The Honourable Marsha Henderson, Minister of Tourism, and a St. Kitts Tourism Authority delegation including CEO Kelly Fontenelle and Deputy CEO Melnecia Marshall, were in Canada recently to connect with travel advisors and key partners like Air Canada Vacations leading into the crucial fall-winter booking season.

“Canada is an extremely important source market for St. Kitts and we are making significant investments into improving our agent education and outreach, offering more immersion opportunities and providing new ways to earn by selling St. Kitts,” said the Honourable Minister Henderson. “We know that there is significant growth opportunity in Canada and travel advisors play a huge role in moving our destination forward - we can't do it without them and providing our support through these programs is paramount.”

Newly appointed St. Kitts CEO, Kelly Fontenelle, says that the destination is just about to launch a newly revamped Specialist Program that will provide more benefits, offers and exclusive incentives to agents. She also revealed that education resources like regular webinars, live sessions on social media platforms and fam trips will be added to the mix in 2025. 

"We just launched the St. Kitts Your Way (SKY) program which runs through to 15 December and may be extended," says Fontenelle. "That program invites agents to get the most out of a visit to St. Kitts with various rewards and discounted rates to hotels, attractions and restaurants so they can truly see how we are a special destination that is completely unique to the region." 

During the visit, St. Kitts touted its immersive attractions, distinctive cultural offerings, incredible culinary offerings and sustainable travel experiences in addition to hinting at new boutique hotels and a 5-star property that are in the pipeline. Air Canada launches its direct service to St. Kitts on 23 November, touching down every Saturday until the end of April 2025.

The Honourable Minister of Tourism, Marsha Henderson (left) and St. Kitts Tourism Authority CEO, Kelly Fontenelle (right) with Vice President of Air Canada Vacations, Nino Montagnese, at the ACV Product Launch. 

Agent education is at the forefront this season with St. Kitts hosting live webinar training seminars such as the recent 'Romance & Industry Trends with St. Kitts' featuring Canada's top romance expert, Alison McGill. "We need more agents to understand how we differ from traditional Caribbean destinations and unique partnerships like the one we have with Alison help us tell our story," says  The Honourable Minister of Tourism, Marsha Henderson (left) with St. Kitts Tourism Authority Deputy CEO, Melnecia Marshall (right).

Meeting with travel advisors at shows like the ACV launch are just one way the destination is sharing the St. Kitts story. Regular webinars, fams trips and live social events will be added to the mix in 2025.