BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The Island of St. Kitts will welcome the Christophe Harbour development on the island’s Southeast Peninsula, created in conjunction with some of the most recognized brands in the luxury travel industry.
The announcement was made on Monday, October 22nd, by top executives from these various entities and their partners at a press conference held at Mandarin Oriental’s Manhattan property, at which St. Kitts & Nevis’ Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism Richard Skerritt were in attendance to formally welcome them to the island.
Under the leadership of Kiawah Development Partners, Christophe Harbour is the primary component in St. Kitts’ Southeast Peninsula project, which covers most of the land in this area and is comprised of developments by Auberge Resorts and Mandarin Oriental among others in association with local enterprises.
Christophe Harbour will be an incomparable master-planned resort surrounding a mega-yacht harbor featuring an impressive collection of upscale restaurants, shops, boutiques, five-star hotels, oceanfront home sites, villas and a Tom Fazio championship golf course.
“In my first meeting with J.B. Turbidy to conceptualize and discuss this project some years ago, I outlined to him my vision for St. Kitts & Nevis,” said Prime Minister Douglas. “I am therefore very pleased that JB. Turbidy, Mark Harmon, Auberge Resorts, Kiawah Development Partners, Mandarin Oriental and a number of other investors, operators and developers have combined forces to put together a comprehensive tourism development project that is consistent in every respect with the vision I had enunciated at that first meeting. Indeed, this project will combine with a number of other private sector projects in St. Kitts & Nevis to give momentum to the programme of economic transformation that my Government has been pursuing in the aftermath of the closure of the sugar industry.”
“The inclusion of such renowned brands in the Southeast Peninsula project corresponds perfectly with our vision for the sustainable development of this pristine area,” said Richard Skerritt, Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture.
“Following St. Kitts’ strategic shift two years ago away from the agribusiness of sugarcane production to tourism as the island’s main economic engine, we have been selectively pursuing projects that are in keeping with our commitment to preserve and promote our nation’s key attributes of nature, culture, and heritage.
We couldn’t be more pleased to have world-class organizations such as Auberge Resorts and Mandarin Oriental share and support our goals for the future.”
In anticipation of the increased need for airlift to support the additional rooms and demand for first-class seats, new non-stop service will commence to St. Kitts from JFK on American Airlines in November of this year and from Atlanta on Delta in February 2008.
These flights will provide more convenient travel options for visitors from two top affluent markets while simultaneously allowing for connections to these flights from additional US and international gateways, particularly those in the Upper Mid-West region of the US and from Canada.
The new airlift compliments existing non-stop service from Miami on American and from Charlotte on US Airways as well as connecting service via San Juan on American Eagle.
