From eGlobal Travel Industry News

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – As published in the Fall 2014 issue of LINKS Magazine, a top US national golf publication available in print and online, St. Kitts & Nevis is ranked among the Top 25 Islands in the world purely on the strength of its golf.

“As a golfer myself, who has played on a number of courses in the Caribbean and around the globe, I’m extremely pleased to see the high quality of our own golf offerings recognized,” said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism & International Transport. “This is really good news for our decision to develop our destination with golf as one of our niche target markets, and with our third world-class course scheduled to open this winter. Our golfing visitors typically have a higher than normal per-person-per-day spend, which fits nicely into our strategic shift toward a more upscale tourism product.”

St. Kitts & Nevis is one of just seven Caribbean islands to rate among the LINKS Magazine Top 25. Listed at #25, the “lucky 7” destination is listed with just six other Caribbean islands that are well-known and established golf destinations – Hispaniola, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bahamas and Barbados (in that order). St. Kitts & Nevis is ranked together as one island, with the Royal St. Kitts noted as the Best Course for play.

The Royal St. Kitts Golf Club was also recently recognized as one of eleven Fantastic Father’s Day Gifts in the Caribbean in an article appearing on May 31, 2014 in USA Today. In addition, it was the first Caribbean golf course to earn Audubon Certification for its environmental practices and is a natural haven for both native and migratory birds. Further to the Royal St. Kitts Golf Club and, on Nevis, the Robert Trent Jones II course at Four Seasons Resort Nevis Golf Club, the twin-island federation will soon be home to the hillside Irie Fields championship course designed by Ian Woosnam at Kittitian Hill debuting in Winter 2014/Spring 2015 and a Tom Fazio championship course at Christophe Harbour on St. Kitts’ southeast peninsula scheduled to open in Winter 2016/Spring 2017, which together create a collection of championship courses unmatched in a destination of St. Kitts and Nevis’ size.

In recent years, St. Kitts has been making a concerted drive into the lucrative golf tourism market. A premier event showcasing the destination’s golf product is the St. Kitts and Nevis Admiral’s Cup Pro-Am, a five-day team tournament for professionals and amateurs from golf clubs across the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. The 5th annual tournament will be played February 17-21, 2015. The St. Kitts-Nevis Admiral’s Cup Pro-Am is the only golf event of its kind that is hosted simultaneously by two Caribbean islands featuring play on two world-class golf courses.

For more on this story go to: http://www.eturbonews.com/51676/st-kitts-named-top-25-islands-golf-globally