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Nevis — a 36-square-mile island in the northeastern Caribbean — is no longer content to be a hidden gem. Driving that transformation is Pamela Martin: three-term Board Chair of the Nevis Tourism Authority and the island's inaugural Film Commissioner. Born in the UK to Nevisian parents, Martin visited the island in 1994 and never left, trading a career in graphic design for a lifelong mission to share Nevis with the world.
Martin has steadfastly positioned Nevis as a "luxury barefoot destination" — a deliberate alternative to mass-market Caribbean tourism. There is no cruise port, no traffic lights, no fast-food chains, and strict building height limits. Yet historically, Nevis looms large: it is home to the Bath Hotel (the first hotel in the Caribbean), the region's first Five Diamond resort (Four Seasons, since 1990), and the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton. "The size of the island is just a number," Martin says. "We are larger than life in a real sense."
During COVID-19, a production company stumbled onto Nevis after travel restrictions blocked their original destination. Over two years, nine films were shot on the island, employing roughly 150 locals and appearing on Amazon and Netflix — all while the rest of the hospitality world stood still. Appointed Film Commissioner in August 2023, Martin turned that accident into a strategy. The Nevis Film Commission officially launched in June 2025 and has since hosted approximately eight additional productions, with US streaming and TV network partnerships set to release in 2026 and 2027. Her pitch to filmmakers highlights the island's speed — you can reach any location in 10–15 minutes — free access to heritage sites, seamless permitting, and incentives in the form of accommodation and dining credits.
On the tourism side, Nevis leans hard into experiential travel. Visitors can cook organic food harvested from the ground with local farmer Ras Iroi, soak in natural thermal hot springs at the historic Bath Hotel, or follow storytelling tours tracing Hamilton's Nevisian roots. The annual Mango Festival — now drawing 4,000+ visitors across four days in July — showcases 44 local mango varieties through 50 participating chefs. The Nevis-to-St. Kitts Cross Channel Swim, ranked among the world's top 100 open water events, targets 750 international swimmers for its March 2026 edition.
Martin's vision extends beyond visitor numbers. She serves on the advisory board of the government's Girls Mentorship Program, and the NTA actively partners with the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society to preserve heritage sites — including an ongoing effort to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for the Bath Hotel. Looking ahead, Martin is focused on expanding brand awareness into untapped markets, including the affluent African American demographic, while cautiously embracing AI and vertical filming technology for the Film Commission. "We have to embrace it," she says, "but carefully — so it doesn't hide the authenticity of Nevis.
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