NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (February 16, 2022) — Following an announcement by the Nevis Tourism Authority (NTA) of its four tourism influencers for 2022, Mr. Devon Liburd, the authority’s interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) says he is hopeful they will bring greater awareness to the destination.

The NTA official made the comment when he spoke to the Department of Information on February 15, 2022, following the social media launch.

“The ambassador programme lasts for 12 months and we are hoping that by the end of this 12 months based on their influence, based on their amplifying what Nevis is all about to their audience we would indeed, through social media, have a greater following to Nevis and certainly have more persons visiting the destination,” he said.

Mr. Liburd also gave some insight into how the tourism ambassadors are expected to generate interest which would steer visitors to experience Nevis.

“What these ambassadors will do, they, over the next 12-month period, visit us here on Nevis. We have invited them to come, chill, relax, enjoy a vacation on the island of Nevis, and based on their experiences we are hoping that they will create stories; they will make posts; they will write blogs about the destination, and indeed their followers would certainly know a lot more about the destination,” he said.

The Nevis Tourism Ambassador Programme was conceptualised by the NTA two years ago. At that time the COVID-19 pandemic had created a slowdown in the travel industry, and as a tourism authority it was forced to come up with creative ideas to promote the destination, while whetting the appetite of potential visitors.

According to Mr. Liburd, the programme has been successful so far.

“We would have had a slate of ambassadors last year. I think there were about six ambassadors and the programme was very successful.

“During that time, they weren’t able to travel so we were sharing the information with them and through their own media, through their own platforms have amplified what we had shared with them.

“What they will be doing this year, because they were not able to visit Nevis during the time of the pandemic, they will be coming as part of the agreement that we have with them, to come and enjoy the destination and it is hoped that when they do come during this time, now we are opened and they can fully enjoy the destination, that they too will share positive information about the destination of Nevis,” he said.

Mr. Liburd registered the NTA’s satisfaction with the programme, citing that so far, the objectives are being met.

“We are happy that our ambassador programme has met the objectives that we’ve set, and we feel that given the slate of ambassadors for 2022 that the impact, the objectives would be much greater met because of the influence of these persons.

“Last year we had a few travel agents and one or two travel writers. This year we have gone a bit larger in terms of including actors, those persons with a bit more influence,” he said.

The 2022 Nevis Tourism Ambassadors are Melanie “Mel B” Brown MBE, a singer, songwriter, author and television personality; Nikeva Stapleton, a dancer, actress and model; Ava Roxanne Stritt, a luxury travel journalist; and Brian Major, a travel journalist.

They were chosen by the NTA based on their status in the tourism market place, their popularity and high following, and their ability to easily influence persons.

Looking ahead, the interim CEO said the NTA wishes the 2022 programme well as looks forward to 2023.