Nevis Tourism Chief Talks Winter Visitor Growth

A measured approach to reopening to travelers post-outbreak is paying dividends for Nevis, now positioned for a strong winter travel season.

Government and health officials of the smaller sister of dual-island nation St. Kitts and Nevis joined the entire country in enacting stringent coronavirus protocols as the pandemic unfolded, including visitor quarantines.

The boutique Caribbean destination is now celebrating the launch of a new website and increased visitor access to Nevis via new daily flights between Miami International Airport and Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in St. Kitts.

We spoke with Jadine Yarde, CEO of the Nevis Tourism Authority, to discuss the agency’s initiatives, priorities and post-outbreak challenges.

TP: How did your agency manage the pandemic travel shutdown and its aftermath?

JY: You know we have had a challenging time like every place in world. However, we were very resilient and very meticulous about how we approached the pandemic. I think have one of the higher rates of vaccination of any country; 71 percent of our adult population is vaccinated that is great news.

We have a small community of people. We want to make sure that we keep them and any person visiting the destination safe. That was really important for us. Also, we understand how important it is to get back to, I won’t say normalcy, but understanding our new way of dealing and interacting with people and being able to live and travel.

TP: What tells you travelers are ready to return to Nevis?

JY: I know we were one of the more strict destinations in the region and but it was great news when cabinet [Nevis’] task force decided to reduce the quarantine time to 24 hours. We are elated about that. Of course, we have been communicating with our partners and with our properties and they are excited. We did a survey of 1,000 participants where we were able to get a sense of what our customers our clients and people that travel want to do what they love about Nevis.

TP: What experiences are you highlighting for travelers to Nevis?

JY: We focused on wellness in the early stages of the pandemic. We understood that our mental health has being impacted in so many ways. Wellness I think is something that’s going to connect with each individual person. We launched a farm tour which I think is really important because of how lush the land is. Visitors will be able to pick fruits and then have a smoothie that’s made with the contents.

TP: How were authentic experiences incorporated?

JY: We [highlighted] some of our practitioners who do yoga and any type of healing practices [with] a video and a brochure and it was amazing. People really received it well. It’s really about that experience. This is a perfect place for health and wellness and that is obviously at the pinnacle of what we focused on when we launched the campaign.

TP: What other aspects of Nevis are you highlighting for visitors this season?

JY: We have been focused on our history, just understanding the connections obviously with Hamilton but also trying to find other ways to connect the dots in terms of storytelling. There are so many great people who have parents or family members from Nevis. We actually had one this fall with Mel B from Spice Girls. She’s Nevisian and she absolutely loves Nevis, so we have an ambassador program where we connected with tour operators and travel agents and influencers.

That’s something we thought was really great because again, it connected the dots with people that actually love Nevis and are able to speak about it firsthand.

TP: Is Nevis’ hotel base operating at full capacity?

JY: In terms of rooms that has been a challenge because some businesses are not open. Right now, we only have four properties open but they’re great properties: the Four Seasons, the Golden Rock Inn, Montpelier Plantation Beach and Paradise Beach Nevis. We’re working on getting the others back up and running.

TP: How is the winter season looking in terms of arrivals?

JY: We want to be strategic because we understand that we’re not a mass destination product. That’s not what we sell. But our numbers have been doing OK. I think now with the 24-hour [quarantine] reduction, there have been a lot more inquiries and that is obviously very important for us. The 2022 season is looking very promising so the more properties that we can open the more properties visitors can get to know.

TP: What do you consider a priority in marketing Nevis to vacationers?

JY: I think awareness has been a major thing for us because the people that Nevis love Nevis but there’s still a very big group but that doesn’t know about Nevis so our job delete is to raise the awareness of the destination.