Cruise Year 23-24: Antigua & Barbuda sets Cruise Tourism record with $89M in spending

Antigua and Barbuda: The tourism authority of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has revealed that the country sees a record $89 million in cruise tourism spending. The island nation has contributed this significant amount in direct cruise tourism expenditure during the overall 2023-24 cruise year.

This is part of a historic surge around 33 Caribbean and Latin American countries, said the authority.

The development was announced after the release of Business Research & Economic Advisors’ new study, which was commissioned by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. The study highlights that the Caribbean region witnessed a whopping $4.27 billion in total cruise tourism expenditure, which is a significant increase of 27% compared to the previous study held in 2018.

The study was released during the 30th edition of the FCCA Cruise Conference and Trade Show held in Philipsburg, St Maarten. It emphasized that the economic impact of cruise tourism in Antigua and Barbuda was part of a broader trend, and during this period, more than 94000 jobs were created across the Caribbean region, which contributed over $1.27 billion in wage income.

Not only this, but it was also stated that the cruise passenger spending saw substantial growth with the region welcoming more than 29.4 million onshore visits. 

It was reported that Antigua and Barbuda saw the passengers spending an average of $104.36 per visit which contributed to the $89 million in total spending. 

Meanwhile, the crew visits added to the economic boost with 3.9 million onshore visits across the Caribbean that generated a total of $229.5 million.

Some of the major regional findings from the latest study included that $4.27 billion was injected into direct cruise tourism expenditures across 33 destinations in the Caribbean, 94,027 jobs were supported by the industry, providing a $1.27 billion in wages, 13 percent increase in passenger as well as crew visits as compared to the last study and an average spend per passenger increasing in 26 of 31 common destinations, with Antigua and Barbuda among the highest.

As the study was released, the FCCA lauded the results and shed a light on the significance of cruise tourism in supporting the local economies of these small island nations. It said that these findings showcases the growing success of cruise tourism which is not just for the cruise lines but also for the communities which directly benefit from this industry. 

The CEO of the company, Michele Paige added that the team could not be any prouder of these results and what they mean for the lives as well as livelihoods of several individuals living across the Caribbean and Latin America. She added that such studies serves as the foundation of building further mutual success between the international cruise lines and the destinations.

The report further outlined that while the direct benefits of cruise tourism were highly important, there were also additional economic advantages including supplies purchased by local tour operators as well as potential return visits from the ones who stayed on the island which were not measured in this study.