St Kitts and Nevis records 21.6% visitor increase, over 1M expected for cruise season 2024-25

St Kitts and Nevis: Minister of Tourism, Marsha Henderson, during a recent press conference revealed the tourism figures for the year while reflecting on the overall success of the sector.

She said that St Kitts welcomed a total of 118,574 visitors by the end of September 2024, representing a 21.6 percent increase from last year’s 97,460.

The Minister said that this shows the immense progress of the destination towards increased stay over arrivals and cruise arrivals.

Henderson stated that the destination is on an upward trajectory and commended her team, stakeholders and the local community for their support and contribution to the tourism industry.

She added that these figures creates optimism for the upcoming winter season which holds continued promise and anticipates even greater numbers for St Kitts.

Meanwhile, the major achievements in air travel and cruise tourism were also disclosed by the Minister. She revealed that Cape Air will be beginning flights from St Thomas to St Kitts on December 7, 2024.

The airline will offer services four times a week while Delta Airlines have also unveiled its plan to resume direct service from John F Kennedy International Airport, New York to St Kitts from December 21, 2024 to April 26, 2025.

Also, November marked the 1st anniversary of JetBlue’s service as well as 20 years of American Airlines’ nonstop service from Miami.

Not only this, but the cruise arrivals in St Kitts have also flourished as the island welcomed 670,014 passengers during the 2023-2024 season. This has been marked a notable increase in visitor spending with an average of $145  being spent by per visitor as compared to $135 in 2018.

Moreover, the Business Research and Economic Advisors report has ranked St Kitts among the top ten destinations for average visitor spend as it ranked third in the Caribbean.

Looking forward to cruise season 2024-2025, Tourism Minister Marsha Henderson said that St Kitts is anticipated to welcome more than one million passengers from 391 cruise calls which is a projected 22 percent increase than the last season.