St Lucia expects arrival of additional 1,25,000 cruise visitors

The month of March is expected to be a record-breaking period in Saint Lucia’s cruise sector.

Between Friday, March 1 and Sunday, March 3, 2019, twelve (12) cruise vessels including the inaugural call of Crystal Esprit, brought an estimated combined capacity of 19,052 travellers to the destination. Expected through March 31, is the arrival of an additional 125,434 travellers.

In an effort to maximize the benefits of tourism locally, that is in direct keeping with our current plans and policy trends toward sustainable cruise tourism strategies, special focus is being placed on the development and management of the cruise sector.

“We are doing everything possible to ensure that Saint Lucians benefit more from these impressive numbers. A revenue committee has been established at the Tourism Council to yield greater economic penetration for our people,” said Tourism Minister, Dominic Fedee. “Therefore, the tremendous growth we are experiencing is a great beginning and we are committed to making this count by training our vendors and other stakeholders to focus on revenue.”

With Saint Lucia’s capacity to welcome Vista, Quantum and Freedom Class vessels, cruise increased by 13.6% in 2018. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is projecting 6 to 7 percent growth this year, continuing an upward trend that began in September of 2018.

In the near future cruise travelers will have much more to see and do, as Saint Lucia is moving towards community-based tourism strategies. The Department of Tourism has earmarked eight communities nationally for the development of the Village Tourism programme with the aim of promoting linkages between onshore businesses and other sectors of the economy.

The idea is to convert each of the communities into a tourism destination, highlighting its unique culture, cuisine, heritage and history, thereby creating an experience for visitors unlike any other destination.