St Kitts and Nevis tourism officials are positioning themselves to capitalise on an unusual advantage. Coming off the heels of a successful 53rd edition of its annual Sugar Mas, the island, with a population of just under 50 000, is gearing up to host another crowd-catcher – its 27th annual music festival – in June.
Chief Executive Officer of the St Kitts-Nevis Tourism Authority, Kelly Fontenelle, touts the uniqueness of the country’s tourism product and says visitors to the island are in for an intimate experience. For St Kitts, she says, its small size is an advantage.
“St Kitts is a small island, but there is so much to do. We consider ourselves vibrant and uncrowded. We have a limited number of hotel rooms, so there are never, ever too many people around when you’re vacationing on the island,” she explains.
St Kitts prides itself on offering a tourism product that blends vibrant experiences with cultural authenticity. Sugar Mas, which ran from December 13, 2024, to January 2, 2025, is a prime example. More than just another Caribbean carnival, it celebrated the island’s heritage with folklore, music, and dance.
“Our carnival is not going to compete with the Jamaican or the Saint Lucia carnival. Our carnival is unique, and what’s different about our carnival is that we still have the cultural aspect in our carnival, which is very unique,” she highlights.
Hyped for the music festival scheduled for this summer, Fontenelle stressed the uniqueness of this event. Six artists are already set to perform at what she described as one of the biggest festivals in the region.
“We have a music festival like no other, and we have lots of different genres of artists who are performing. And again, we are not competing with any of the other destinations because what we have is unique,” Fontenelle explained.
The lineup for the highly anticipated June 26-28 event features a mix of global superstars and regional favourites. They include: AkaiiUSweet & Tobap, Ayra Starr, Dejour, Jennifer Hudson, Kes The Band, Kollision Band, Shenseea, and Vybz Kartel.
The festival blends soul, soca, jazz, and other genres in what organisers promise to be an enriching experience for all attendees.
Good for them and our tourist board needs to look at our carnivals and compare it to other islands who are doing it right.
Our carnivals are not for the tourists it’s just another excuse to party, drink too much and wear hardly any clothes. The women flaunt their backsides in public for the guys to abuse.
I’ve heard ssssooo many tourists say it’s disgusting sexuel behaviour in front of people.
Oh and please bring on the comments of ‘its our culture’ .
IbaI agree with anonymous, the ‘culture’ here in St Lucia seems to be about getting high as a kite on any of the numerous excuses for yet another public holiday, old women grinding their fat backsides into the groins of drunken young men like wild animals on heat – not a pleasant sight. The mess left behind for others to clean up after the ‘proud Lucians’ have finished partying, is disgraceful to say the least. Welcome to Paradise?? Not.