by Brian Major
Last updated: 9:00 AM ET, Wed April 8, 2026
St. Kitts and Nevis tends to fly under the radar when it
comes to Caribbean destinations. The dual-island nation lacks the instant name
recognition some other Caribbean countries enjoy, but it boasts all of the
attractions that make the Caribbean special: beautiful beaches, lush
landscapes, and intriguing culture and cuisine.
Kelly Fontenelle, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, leads
international marketing efforts for the destination, focusing on travel trade
and airline relationships. She also orchestrates strategic plans across media;
fosters lucrative partnerships; and facilitates effective stakeholder
communication.
Fontenelle additionally focuses on leisure and cruise, two
perennially high-performing areas for tourism for St. Kitts. She joined the St.
Kitts Tourism Authority in June 2024.
TravelPulse talked with Kelly to learn more about her plans
to make St. Kitts a standout Caribbean destination.
TravelPulse (TP): What are some of the events happening in St. Kitts this
year?
Kelly Fontenelle (KF): In June we will have the St. Kitts Music Festival, this
is our 20th year, and we have a mix of international, regional and
local artists performing. In July, we’re hosting our Culinary Month, which is
done a little differently. We have three signature events Cook, Sip and Glam,
which is one of our luxury events held at the Park Hyatt hotel. Then we have Dining
Under the Stars and Grillfest, which is a competition among our roadside chefs.
One difference with our Culinary Month is that the people choose the fruit or
vegetable that will be the main ingredient in the dishes that restaurants will
be serving during the month. Last year we had tamarind, this year we have
carrot and soursop. So it will be interesting to see what dishes our
restaurants and chefs will be creating with those ingredients. There will be
prix fix menus at most of the restaurants in St. Kitts and Nevis, so consumers
can get introduced to the food.
TP: You established St. Kitts’ first travel agent advisory
board. What was behind this move?
KF: Our travel agent advisory board consists of seven agents
from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Caribbean. They will be almost an
extension of our sales team, basically helping us to see what other
destinations are doing, what other destinations are coming up with and why, and
see how we can be part of that as well. So they will be our eyes and ears on
the ground.t
TP: What other moves will you make to court tour operators
and travel agents?
KF: In April we will host St. Kitts Spotlight, our tour operator
event, when tour operators come to St. Kitts and will be having one-on-one
meetings with local hotels and DMCs. It’s a new event we’re putting together.
This is the inaugural one and it will be hosted annually.
We’re also hosting the ASTA Caribbean Showcase in August.
That will be the first time ASTA will be coming to this part of the Caribbean. We’re
trying to build our relationships with our travel agents and tour operators.
When I started, this was one area I felt we were lacking a little bit, and
we’re trying to foster better relationships.
TP: How will these agent and tour operator events help St.
Kitts’ tourism marketing efforts?
KF: So in a way we’re increasing the inventory of our
properties to show more to travel agents and tour operators so they are more
knowledgeable about what we have. This is one of the ways of building a relationship
and a partnership with tour operators and travel agents. That’s the reason we
also have the travel advisory board. We believe [agents] are a very fundamental
part of the travel industry.
TP: What are some of the attractions and activities to be
found in St. Kitts?
KF: There’s so much to do in St. Kitts. It’s a beautiful
destination for diving. We’ve won six Reader’s Choice awards for diving and one
was for the best dive destination for first-time divers. We won three times in
a row the Best Dive Destination by Caribbean Travel Awards. So it’s a beautiful
dive destination and for all of the other things on the water: sailing,
snorkeling and catamaran cruises.
Then we have all of the land activities. We have a growing
rainforest; we’re one of the few countries that have a growing rainforest. There
are a lot of rainforest trails. We have Brimstone Hill, a World Heritage Site
where you can do a beautiful tour. We also have the Scenic Railway. When we had
sugar plantations, the train took sugar from one plantation to the next, so now
the train is a big part of our attractions. It’s one of the most popular
attractions that takes you around the interior of the island.
St. Kitts is very rich in culture and history. We were the
first destination to be colonized by the U.K. So now you walk around the
streets of Basseterre you will see The Circus or Uncle Ben, the big clock in
the center of the city.
We have a lot of cooking tours as well and we have the Train
Express that takes you around the city and gives you history lessons on what
happened around areas of the city.
Starting in November of 2027, St. Kitts will be a homeport
for P&O Cruises. We had a few inaugural calls this season, and we had an
increase in passengers over 2024.
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