Tag: borders

St. Kitts and Nevis to Reopen Borders on October 31, 2020

St. Kitts and 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.

St. Kitts & Nevis to Re-Open Borders in October 2020

In conjunction with borders reopening, the Prime Minister announced that the Federation’s major hotels remain committed partners to the tourism sector. The St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Park Hyatt St. Kitts will reopen in October 2020. The Park Hyatt’s Fisherman’s Village reopened last week Friday, August 7, 2020. Koi, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel, will reopen in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Royal St. Kitts Hotel is currently operating with reduced capacity. The Four Seasons Resort Nevis will soon announce reopening plans.

In preparation for the borders reopening, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, the Nevis Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with the Ministries of Health and Civil Aviation are conducting training for over 5,000 tourism industry stakeholders including hotels at no cost to them. The training aims to educate stakeholders in the health and safety protocols and standards that must be met in order to obtain the “Travel Approved” certification and seal from the respective Tourism Authority that will be required for them to operate.

The phased reopening is being implemented with the advisement of the Chief Medical Officer, the Medical Chief of Staff and medical experts. At their advice, the Federation has successfully flattened the curve. St. Kitts & Nevis has the fewest number of confirmed cases in all the CARICOM independent states at a total of 17 with 0 active cases at this time and 0 deaths to date. This is a direct result of the Federation’s “all society approach” and adherence to established protocols including social distancing, hand washing and mask-wearing that remain in place.