Junior Minister for Tourism and Culture, Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4), attended the 9th Council of Ministers of Tourism in St. Kitts from February 11 to 12, 2026. Photo: OECS

Hon Marsha T. Henderson, Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, International Transport, Employment and Labour and Urban Development of St. Kitts and Nevis, took over chairmanship of the OECS Council of Ministers of Tourism. Photo: OECS

Director General of the OECS, Dr Didacus Jules, said the OECS is experiencing a pivotal moment for tourism during the opening ceremony of the 9th Council of Ministers of Tourism in St. Kitts from February 11 to 12, 2026. Photo: OECS

The Virgin Islands (VI) is an Associated Member of the OECS. The two-day meeting was held at the St Kitts and Nevis Marriott Resort for discussions on the region’s tourism industry. 

Hon Marsha T. Henderson, Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, International Transport, Employment and Labour and Urban Development of St Kitts and Nevis, took over chairmanship of the council during the meeting and called the meeting’s agenda rigorous “because it must be”. 

“We are called to focus on matters that require collective action and shared solutions,” she said in her address. 

Important regional matters discussed 

The council examined the OECS Sustainable Tourism Action Plan 2025-2035, Cruise Tourism Sustainability, regional data coordination and stronger linkages with agriculture and the creative industries 

The meeting focused on:

• Streamlining the movement of people so that the OECS truly functions as a connected space, one that is accessible to regional travellers as it is to international markets. 
• Harmonising standards and policies to attract investment that respects the region’s environmental assets, strengthens communities and delivers sustainable economic growth across member states
• Leveraging intelligence and shared data so that the OECS can anticipate market trends, coordinate responses and position the OECS as a proactive leader rather than a reactive participant in global tourism 

Rethinking tourism

Director General of the OECS, Dr Didacus Jules, also addressed the opening ceremony. 

Dr Jule said the OECS is experiencing a pivotal moment for tourism at a time of unprecedented convergence of pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, climate volatility, tightened global financing, and profound shifts in the global tourism industry

“We have to think entirely differently about how we conduct this tourism business.”

He reminded the ministers present that plans do not implement themselves.  

“They require political courage, they require regional discipline, and they require a willingness to challenge inherited assumptions.”