St. Kitts and Nevis showcased at CHTA Marketplace as stakeholders show interest

As one of the Caribbean’s most influential annual tourism industry gatherings drew to a close in Antigua, the dual-island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis has emerged with promising new leads from the 44th Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Marketplace. Held across two days at the American University of Antigua, the 2026 event brought more than 500 tourism stakeholders including international buyers, hospitality sellers, and industry media together to drive regional growth and showcase destination offerings. For St. Kitts and Nevis, the event marked a key milestone in the country’s push to expand its footprint in fast-growing new source markets. Delegations from the St. Kitts Tourism Authority (SKTA) and the Nevis Tourism Authority (NTA) participated as a unified delegation, positioning the Federation’s combined tourism product to global industry partners. SKTA Chief Executive Officer Kelly Fontenelle, who led the joint delegation, called the gathering exceptionally productive for the Caribbean nation’s tourism sector. In her assessment, the event delivered dual value: it strengthened long-standing commercial ties with existing industry partners, while unlocking critical access to untapped business opportunities, most notably across Latin America. “We have been working for months to build a presence in this region, and at CHTA Marketplace we connected with multiple tour operators actively seeking partnerships with local hotels and tourism stakeholders,” Fontenelle explained. “These operators are based in markets like Venezuela and Argentina, where clients enjoy visa-free entry to St. Kitts and Nevis, making this a natural expansion of our visitor base.” Beyond business development for St. Kitts and Nevis, the 44th CHTA Marketplace fulfilled its core industry mission: it underscored the outsized economic role of tourism across the Caribbean, while putting a spotlight on host nation Antigua and Barbuda’s own world-class hospitality offerings. Reflecting on the outcomes, Fontenelle emphasized that the event aligned perfectly with the Federation’s ongoing strategy to diversify its visitor sources and reduce dependence on traditional northern markets. “This has been an incredibly busy and productive event for our team, and we are eager to see what partnerships emerge from these conversations in the coming months,” she said. Looking back at early 2025 visitor arrival data, Fontenelle noted that St. Kitts and Nevis, like most competing Caribbean destinations, got off to a robust start to the year. “Nearly every island in the region reported a strong first quarter, starting the year with a surge in bookings,” she recalled. “We did see a small dip after political unrest in Venezuela disrupted regional travel early in January, but demand rebounded strongly through February and March, putting us back on track.” Still, the industry leader highlighted growing headwinds that are causing concern across the region ahead of the Northern Hemisphere summer travel season. Fontenelle pointed to shifting airline dynamics that have put upward pressure on airfares, dampening consumer demand for regional travel. “Airlines have reported that total revenue is holding up, but passenger load factors are down – what that means is ticket prices have gone up significantly,” she explained. “Carriers are still turning a profit, but fewer people are able to afford to travel right now, which is softening summer demand across the Caribbean.” To address this systemic challenge, Fontenelle proposed that Caribbean destination stakeholders collaborate to tackle rising airfare costs, a shared barrier that threatens to cut into visitor arrivals across the entire region. Even with the near-term uncertainty surrounding the summer 2025 travel season, Fontenelle remained upbeat about the Federation’s full-year outlook, particularly for the peak winter tourism season that drives the bulk of annual tourism revenue for most Caribbean destinations. “Winter bookings are tracking well ahead of expectations, which aligns with our long-standing strategy of launching promotional campaigns early to capture early-booking winter travelers,” she noted. “As things stand today, the winter season looks very strong for St. Kitts and Nevis.”