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Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 05, 2019 (SKNIS): The St. Kitts Eco-park, also known as the Agro-Tourism Demonstration Farm Co-Op, has become a key element in the Federation’s tourism product. As such, Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, has called for no effort to be spared in marketing and promoting the agro-tourism facility.

The park was officially handed over to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis from the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on Thursday, January 24, 2019, after eight years of operation.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the park in Sandy Point to mark the occasion, Minister Grant said that the marketing and promotion of the premises should be done with “passion and enthusiasm that is palpable and contagious.” 

“I implore us all to commit ourselves to being brand ambassadors so that we can build the image of the Eco-park as a premier eco-tourism attraction designed to cater to the rapidly growing niche market of experiential visitors and travelers who are looking for the unfiltered, authentic, direct interaction with nature and local populations alike,” he said.  

Minister Grant stated that he envisions that in the near future, the Eco-park will attract the attention of prominent and highly praised organizations such as the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which recently named St. Kitts and Nevis as a finalist for its Tourism for Today Award in the destination stewardship category. “Of the 15 destinations listed in five categories, St. Kitts and Nevis is one of just two Caribbean countries, Aruba is the other,” said the minister.

In order to ensure the consistent high standards and culture of excellent customer service, which have been the core of the Eco-park brand and experience, Minister Grant said that management and staff must commit to working as a team. He added that periodic skills training, human resource development and capacity building programmes will be delivered to realize this goal.

One such training was held on September 04 aimed at further enhancing the experience of potential visitors and patrons to the facility.

The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Leonard Stapleton and covered topics such as Heritage Tour Development, Tour Guide Skills Training and Role Playing. He also gave the participants a comprehensive history of the island through plants so that they can understand and explain to visitors how some of the local plants on the island came into existence.