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THE CARIBBEAN ISLAND WHERE THE RICH AND FAMOUS COME TO PLAY

When The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders spent eleven days in St. Kitts and Nevis doing photography for their 1997 Swimsuit Calendar and the cast and crew from the soap Opera The Young & The Restless visited to tape several episodes, they joined a long list of celebrities, well-known and famous people who've "discovered" the two quiet islands as an alternative to life in the fast lane.

A quick look at some other newsmakers who traveled to St. Kitts and Nevis include Princess Di; David Letterman; Oprah Winfrey; Sharon Stone; Pulitzer Prize winning author James Michener; Sylvester Stallone; Janet Jackson; Barbara Mandrel; Danny Glover; Robert DeNiro; Michael J. Fox, sports greats Wayne Gretsky and Walter Payton, various soap opera stars, and more than a few rock stars from North America and Europe. And politically speaking, former U.S. President George Bush was made an honorary citizen during a visit earlier this year. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien spent a vacation in St. Kitts and Nevis with members of his family a few weeks after former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford and his wife were seen shopping and sightseeing.

Since the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis became independent in 1983 tourism grew from less than 22,000 overnight guests per year 100,000 in 1995. Big, for St. Kitts and Nevis, but still minuscule by tourism standards.

The reason most often heard as to why these relatively small, sister islands are suddenly so desirable go beyond the traditional visions of sun, sand and sea proffered so effectively in regional promotional campaigns: St. Kitts and Nevis have become known as islands which reflect the way the West Indies were before World War II.

That kind of recognition is due in great part to the fact that St. Kitts and Nevis have some of the strictest ecology laws in the world on their books and they mean business. There has been no over-development, no high rises on beaches, no glitz, chrome and glass or other such forms of pollution. The obvious confirmation of the above is that no building is taller than the palm trees.

The most popular visitor attraction in St. Kitts and Nevis is the ominous and brooding Brimstone Hill Fortress. Perched like a sentinel high above the sea its guns were so intimidating that ship captains often changed course rather than fall within their range. Known as "The Gibraltar of the Caribbean," Brimstone Hill is the second largest pre-20th Century fortress

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