BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The St. Kitts and Nevis Travel Approved Seal issued to tourism stakeholders upon completion of their mandatory COVID-19 sensitization sessions facilitated by the Ministry of Tourism is a unique feature that will separate the Federation’s tourism product from those of its competitors.
The seal will identify entities and operators within the tourism industry who have undergone the required training to meet the minimum health and safety COVID-19 protocols, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Ms. Racquel Brown.
Ms. Brown’s remarks came while providing an update to Government ministers and representatives of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce during a meeting on August 5.
“Issuance of the St. Kitts and Nevis Travel Approved Seal is the most critical component of the COVID-19 sensitization sessions,” explains Ms. Brown. “Stakeholders within the tourism sector who did not receive this approved seal will not be permitted to operate in the new environment.
“That seal says you have gone through the training, you’ve gone through the protocols, and you have met the criteria,” she said. “The Travel Approved Seal says to a tour operator or to a consumer when they go on a website and see this seal they see the entities that are recommended for them to go and visit and to travel.
“They can go and see what the criteria are that meet the terms of the protocols,” said Ms. Brown. “That’s going to be very important for us in terms of separating ourselves from the rest of the pack. We are ensuring at this point that we’ve kept our citizens and our residents safe. We can say to our visitors, when you come here, we are equally taking care of you.”
Ms. Brown said the mandatory training sessions commenced on July 22 with restaurants and bars and tour operators who operate coaster buses.
“Those two sectors of the tourism industry were chosen specifically because they had already gotten the approvals from the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC). We are moving now to hotels that want to open up their restaurants, for example, Park Hyatt as they are looking to opening up Fisherman’s Village, so we started training with them [on Wednesday].”
Ms. Brown noted that the training being done on St. Kitts is being carried out in conjunction with the Nevis Tourism Authority. “Whatever it is we are doing here, it is the same protocols that are in Nevis for tourism.”
The COVID-19 sensitization sessions are expected to continue into the month of September and will cater to all stakeholders in the tourism sector. These include taxi operators, hotels, vendors, beach bars, retail stores, water and land based tour operators, and watersports providers.
