NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 01, 2018) — Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis and Minister of Tourism, thanked the St. Kitts and Nevis Hotel and Tourism Association for affording him the an opportunity to interact with hoteliers on Nevis at its monthly meeting which was held at the Oualie Beach Resort on July 31, 2018.

Mr. Brantley who is also the Minister of Tourism, stated that he was always willing to hear any concerns the hoteliers in an effort to foster a closer working relationship with the tourism sector.

“I am very pleased to be invited to this meeting and I thank you, as an organisation, for having me. I hope that the discussion we can have will be frank and honest and open…

“I sit in a position of great responsibility on the island in the sense that people look to my office to try to solve problems. Some of them I can some of them I can’t but certainly I am prepared to listen and to see how we can work more closely together and how you as business owners and managers and the people who really are the lifeblood of the tourism industry, can also work closer with each other so that we can make this industry as strong as it can be,” he said.

Mr. Brantley gave the hoteliers the assurance that the NIA, through the Nevis Tourism Authority (NTA) and the Ministry of Tourism, would continue to work in a collaborative manner with stakeholders to ensure that tourism sites are in good order and more attractions are available for visitors.

The Premier also indicated his intention to update the hoteliers on the issue of crime which he stated is not only a problem for the industry.

“There are issues of crime which is certainly not just an issue for the hotel industry or for tourists. It is an issue that impacts us because we live here and so these are issues that I think we need to discuss in a very open and honest way in terms of where we are, where we are going and as a government, what ideas we are seeking to implement to try and address some of these concerns,” he said.

The hoteliers present at the meeting represented the Four Seasons Resort, Nevis, Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Oualie Beach Resort, Golden Rock Inn, Mount Nevis Hotel, The Hermitage, Montpelier Plantation Inn and Paradise Beach Hotel.

Ms. Tawanna Wigley, Acting Executive Director of the St. Kitts and Nevis Hotel and Tourism Association and Mr. Devon Liburd Director of Sales and Marketing at the NTA were also present.