Press Release 2012
From Hit Songs to Hitting Sixes on St. Kitts Back-to-Back Summer Events Drive Tourism in Low Season Press Release 2012
Basseterre, St. Kitts (July 5, 2012) - St. Kitts is building an impressive reputation as a premiere destination for world-class events from outstanding music performances to top sporting thrills. Just last week, the island hosted its "Sweet" 16th annual St. Kitts Music Festival and, starting next Wednesday, will host three One Day International (ODI) cricket matches between the West Indies and New Zealand.
"With another successful Music Festival having just concluded, we expect the upcoming cricket matches to attract another group of international and regional visitors to our shores," said St. Kitts Minister of Sports, Glenn Phillip.
According to Rosecita Jeffers, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, "International events such as our Music Festival and West Indies cricket have been proven to help minimize the fall off in visitor arrivals that we normally experience during low season and provide more year-round income for local tourism-related businesses. In fact, some visitors who traveled here initially for the Music Festival are staying on for the cricket."
To boost local attendance and crowd support for the "home team" West Indies, Wednesday July 11th has been declared a national holiday by the Government of St. Kitts & Nevis, which in itself is a strong show of commitment to the hosting of such events. St. Kitts experienced high hotel occupancies and good crowd turn-outs at the island's Warner Park Stadium over the past weekend with a mix of local, regional and international music fans attending the 16th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival, held from June 28-30, 2012.
Festival-goers were treated to a high-energy performance by Machel Montano to close the first night's show, while Friday night was dominated by Morgan Heritage and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, both of whom elicited thunderous applause and shouts of appreciation from the crowd.
For the final night of the Festival on Saturday, Liamuiga Project and Roberta Flack had the audience swaying to their songs while Toni Braxton earned rave reviews for her lovely voice as well as for persevering throughout heavy rain during her performance. Closing act Omarion's hot dance routines had everyone on their feet, ending the three-night event on a high note.
World-class music at the end of June now gives way to International Cricket in July as St. Kitts continues to attract visitors to its shores with an active events tourism calendar. The final three ODI matches of the New Zealand tour of the Caribbean will take place at Warner Park on July 11th, 14th and 16th, 2012.
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