Golf Ontario Junior Golfers Tee Off In St. Kitts

 

Basseterre, St. Kitts (January 3 2017) – This past Saturday, December 31, 2016, a team of 14 junior golfers from Golf Ontario arrived in St. Kitts to ring in their New Year by participating in a high performance training program on island. Their week-long visit is a direct result of the partnership between the destination and Golf Ontario established in 2015, which is designed to promote St. Kitts as a premier destination for golf within the key Ontario market.

 

“We are very pleased to welcome the first group of Golf Ontario golfers for 2017,” said the Hon. Mr. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry and Commerce. “Hosting this group of young up-and-coming golfers provides us with an opportunity to showcase St. Kitts both on and off the golf course as a premier travel destination among one of Canada’s strongest consumer segments.”

 

The Golf Ontario Team Ontario junior group is comprised of seven young men and seven young women representing the top junior players from the Canadian province of Ontario, as follows-

 

Each year, the group of junior players and their coaches make several training trips to prepare for the upcoming golf season when they will compete against top junior teams from other provinces’ golf associations. Their December 31, 2016 to January 7, 2017 stay on St. Kitts is the team’s first training trip outside North America. While on island, the team will participate in high performance training including gym workouts, full swing and short game practice sessions as well as on-course play. In addition, they will have the opportunity to take part in non-golfing activities and dine at various restaurants showcasing local West Indian food or other cuisines. The group is staying at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel and all on-course training will take place at the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club. Designed by Canadian course architect Thomas McBroom, it is an18-hole links-style course featuring holes on both the Caribbean and Atlantic.

 

Hosting the Golf Ontario junior group is a key part of St. Kitts’ golf strategy to build and leverage partnerships that will increase awareness for the island as a world-class golf travel destination, particularly focused in Canada. Golf is the number one sport in Canada and it is also one of the most lucrative niche markets that can contribute to a destination’s economy. More golfers live and play in the province of Ontario than any other region of Canada and Canada represents the second largest source market in North America for air passenger arrivals. There are nearly 6 million golfers in Canada and those who travel overseas to play golf spend $4.6 billion, representing a significant potential market for St. Kitts & Nevis.

 

Golf Ontario’s Team Ontario program is a high performance training program for the top junior aged golfers in Ontario. Athletes are selected in the fall each year and the program runs during the winter into the Ontario golf season. Team Ontario athletes receive the very best in coaching services, training/competitive opportunities, and sport science support. Being selected to Team Ontario is a tremendous accomplishment and offers unparalleled support and guidance to the participating athletes and their families. Golf Ontariois one of Canada’s leading golf associations focused on building golf communities around the province, providing leading edge junior player development programming and the overall promotion of new opportunities to enjoy golf at all ages and skill levels.

 

St. Kitts is currently ranked by US News & World Report, with sister island Nevis, at #1 on a list of Best Caribbean Honeymoons, #2 on a list of the Best Beach Honeymoon Destinations in the World, #5 on a list of Best Family Vacations in the Caribbean, #7 on a list of the Best Islands in the World and #7 on a list of the Best Places to Visit in the Caribbean.  It is further ranked at #7 among the Hottest Places to Travel this Winter by CNN Money based on bookings received by Virtuoso, #8 on a list of the Top 10 Best Islands for a Holiday by Places To See In Your Lifetime, #14 on a list of the 50 Travel Destinations That Will Be Huge In The Next 10 Yearsas well as #8 on a list of the 25 Best Caribbean Islands by Business Insider, one of the Top 12 Best Caribbean Vacations on FlipKey.com, the vacation rental company of leading travel website, TripAdvisor^®. Most recently, The Wall Street Journal ranked St. Kitts as #9 on a list of 10 places across the world for Where to Vacation in 2017. In 2016, St. Kitts ranked #9 on a list of Top 10 Emerging Luxury Destinations for 2016 (the only Caribbean island on the list) and #15 of The Top 21 Destinations for 2016 by Robb Report, #4 on a list of the Top 5 Eastern Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda Cruise Destinations in Cruise Critic’s first-ever Cruisers’ Choice Destination Awards and was called one of the Ones to Watch in 2016 by Travel Weekly. St. Kitts & Nevis were also named #13 on a list of the most popular Caribbean islands among the very rich by Bloomberg Business online, one of the Top 15 Emerging Travel Hotspots for 2015by The Huffington Post and ranked by The New York Times at #34 of the 52 Places to Go in 2015.

 

Intoxicating natural beauty, sunny skies, warm waters, and sandy beaches combine to make St. Kitts one of the most seductive spots in the Caribbean. Located in the northern Leeward Islands, it offers a diverse tourism product developed from the destination’s natural beauty, cultural heritage and rich history.  The island’s stunning variety of tourism attractions include hiking through the tropical rainforest, riding the scenic railway that connects the island’s former sugar plantations, visiting the Caribelle Batik factory, and touring Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the more traditional vacation pastimes available are watersports, golf, shopping, tennis, dining, gaming at St. Kitts’ exclusive casino or simply relaxing on by the sea.  Accommodations range from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels and resorts. 

 

For more information about St. Kitts, please contact the St. Kitts Tourism Authority toll free from the US at 1-800-582-6208 or from Canada 1-888-395-4887, e-mail info@stkittstourism.kn, visit www.stkittstourism.kn, or connect on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and/or YouTube.