St. Kitts announces that Air Canada will begin service to St. Kitts on December 23, 2011 for the peak winter 2011/2012 travel season which ends in April 2012. The weekly non-stop flight will operate from Toronto on Fridays. It will be the island’s only non-stop commercial flight from Canada, effectively making St. Kitts and its sister island, Nevis, a more viable winter destination choice for travelers from this key North American market.
 
Air Canada flight AC1778 will depart Toronto (YYZ) at 8:40 a.m. and arrive into St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport at 2:40 p.m. every Friday. The same-day return flight AC1779 will depart St. Kitts at 3:40 p.m. and arrive into Toronto at 8:00 p.m. Air Canada will use an Airbus 319 aircraft with 108 Economy Class seats and 12 Business Class seats for this flight. All flights are listed in local time. Reservations will be handled exclusively via Air Canada Vacations and their associated travel agencies.
 
The vacation package and flight program follows several weeks of planning and a recent visit to the Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Ricky Skerritt by Ms. Shirley Lam, Manager Product Development, and Ms. Sylvia Costa, Manager Destination Services, of Air Canada Vacations. “The addition of this program from Air Canada Vacations is very significant for St. Kitts & Nevis,” said Senator Ricky Skerritt. “Canada has always been a valuable source market for visitors and investors as well as home to a large contingent of our Diaspora. I am gratified that Air Canada Vacations is adding us to their list of partner destinations this coming winter and our Government is working closely with our local hoteliers and other St. Kitts & Nevis tourism stakeholders to make full use of this opportunity to strengthen our travel and tourism relationship with Canada.”
 
The two Air Canada Vacations’ officials visited St. Kitts & Nevis hotels and other tourism partners to familiarize themselves with the destination and finalize plans for the weekly service. They were accompanied by Mr. Brad Richards, Sales Representative at St. Kitts Tourism Authority’s Toronto office.
 
In recent months, St. Kitts was named a top destination for 2011 by both AOL Travel and British Airways. Located in the northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, St. Kitts 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, touring Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean, and the more traditional vacation pastimes such as watersports, golf, shopping, tennis, gourmet dining, gaming at one of St. Kitts’ two casinos or simply relaxing on one of the island’s sandy beaches. Accommodations range from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels or resorts.