St Vincent and the Grenadines welcomed over 8000 cruise passengers on Wednesday

St Vincent and the Grenadines welcomed five cruise ships within a single day which docked into Port Kingstown and Port Elizabeth. These cruises brought a total of 8,463 passengers to the island’s beautiful shores.

With the arrival of these five cruise ships on Wednesday, St Vincent and the Grenadines anticipated a thriving cruise tourism season 2023-2024. The Port Kingstown welcomed the ships, including Costa Fortuna and Mein Schiff, while Marella Discovery, Le Bellot and Royal Clipper arrived at Port Elizabeth. [caption id="attachment_67463" align="alignnone" width="1080"] Costa Fortuna and Mein Schiff arriving at Port Kingstown[/caption]

Recently, the Minister of Tourism, Carlo James, expressed his delight as the tourism sector is enhancing and progressing, which resulted in the growth of the economy in SVG.

Noting this, the arrival of the cruise ships counted as the second year in a row after the disturbing period of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

“Cruise calls increased by 20% in 2023, with a 120 per cent increase in cruise guests to the location over the same period in 2022”, added Minister James. Continuing his statement, he further added, “Cruise calls to SVG increased for the second year in a row, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2019.”

According to James, the preliminary data suggests that 2023 will cross an 83.2 per cent increase compared to 2022, almost double the performance of the previous year.

Moreover, the arrival of cruise ships boosts the bar for the ultimate in sophistication and elegance. The guests are expected to enjoy the finest hospitality, style and comfort during travelling.

The makers carefully designed the ships, keeping their guests in mind. Further, the sailing cruise gives an unparalleled experience that unites the best of luxury and nature.

Adding to the fact, the arrival of cruise ships holds great significance for SVG from both economic and luxury standpoints. It will offer several job opportunities to the service providers for passengers.

People across the country took to their official social media handle (Facebook) to express their happiness as the ships docked at the ports.

While reacting to the news, a person named Delores Bourne commented, “Absolutely gorgeous. The homemade is worth praising, great things looking good for svg. This turn out epic.”