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Basseterre, St. Kitts (April 06, 2016) The Tourism industry in the Federation continues to be high on the agenda for Tessy Ekpunobi, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Honorary Consul in Nigeria. During the Diplomats week currently taking place in St.Kitts-Nevis the Honorary Consul announced that starting in June of this year a private airline will be flying directly from Abuja, Nigeria, to the Twin-island Federation.

“This will not only be a gateway to St. Kitts and Nevis, but to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as a whole,” she said. “Nigerians travel quite a lot so this is a good avenue for them to also get to know the other side of the Caribbean countries and I look forward to making St. Kitts and Nevis a vacation destination in Nigeria.”

Ms. Ekpunobi stated that she observed that Kittitians and Nevisians are fond of Nigerian music and Nollywood films and noted that provisions have been made to further introduce such in the Federation.

“I contacted the artists and they will be flying in on the inaugural flight to St. Kitts and Nevis in June to present at the St. Kitts Music Festival and some of them will also come in September for the Independence,” she said. “I promote St. Kitts and Nevis in that respect. We have vacation packages such as weddings and honeymoons, as well as romantic packages.”

She made mention of the over 800 Nigerian medical students currently studying in St. Kitts and Nevis and noted that she intends to continue promoting the field of education which is known as international education in Nigeria.

The honorary consul said that she is presently conducting talks with banks in Nigeria to get them interested in setting up operations in the Federation and stated that she is positive that very soon it will become reality.

“I continue to attract investments from high net worth individuals, not just for the citizenship investment application but also for investment in St. Kitts and Nevis,” she said. “Not for passports only, but for the proper establishment of industries in St. Kitts and Nevis.”

According to information from http://www.foreign.govt.kn/, relations between St. Kitts and Nevis and the Federal Republic of Nigeria date back to the 1980s when medical practitioners were deployed to the Federation to lend their expertise to the health institutions. The relations deepened over time with the influx of Nigerian students to pursue studies at offshore medical institutions. The relationship is therefore pregnant with potential with the Federation in place to benefit from diplomatic relations and to strengthen cultural ties.