Antigua and Barbuda welcomes over 13000 cruise visitors in a day

Antigua and Barbuda was bustling on Saturday as more than 13000 cruise visitors arrived aboard four vessels, all of which docked simultaneously at St John’s. These cruises included home-porting vessels Arvia and Emerald Azzura, which have been bringing significant economic activity to the twin-island nation.

The other two cruises which arrived to the island included Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Gem. The tourists ventured across St John’s and explored the various tourist hotspots while indulging in a number of local tours and excursions.

According to the statistics, a total of 13,312 cruise visitors visited Antigua, pushing the overall visitor mark to 806,111 passengers for 2024. These numbers reflect the thriving cruise sector of the island nation and also showcases the strong recovery of the industry since the Covid-19 pandemic.

While sharing the data during a recent interview, Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez anticipated continued growth and projected up to 900,000 cruise arrivals in 2025 including monthly visits from larger vessels. 

Not only, but he also shared that by the end of 2024, Antigua and Barbuda is anticipating welcoming more than 1.1 million visitors which underscores the increasing appeal of the country and the tourism sector’s post-pandemic resurgence. 

Antigua and Barbuda to end 2024 with over 10000 cruise visitors

Furthermore, Antigua and Barbuda is set to end this year with a whopping 10986 visitors which will be arriving to the island on December 31 onboard four cruises including AIDAperla, Costa Fortuna, Marella Voyager and Norwegian Viva.

The tourism officials said that they are looking forward to welcoming these visitors on New Year’s eve, allowing them to experience the rich celebration in the Caribbean. 

Tourism Minister anticipates 15% increase in arrivals over 2019

Notably, Tourism Minister Fernandez further lauded his team for their commitment towards making the island nation as one of the premier tourism destinations in the region. He said that because of their hard work and continued collaborations with tourism stakeholders, all segments of the tourism industry have experienced record numbers. 

He emphasized that 2024 is anticipated to end with at least an increase of 15% in overall arrivals than 2019 which was the best year on record for tourism previously.