The Ministry of Tourism is expecting a record 378 cruise calls to St. Vincent and the Grenadines this season.
It is the third consecutive cruise season that the destination is forecast to see a higher number of calls, year on year.
SVG recorded 376 calls for the 2023-2024 season and 311 calls in the 2022-2023 season.
Minister of Tourism Carlos James announced the number at a press conference on Wednesday.
He noted that the numbers are provisional and the forecast is despite the passage of Hurricane Beryl, which devastated mainly the Southern Grenadines, on July 1.
The total number of calls is projected to see 317,115 cruise passengers arriving in SVG in the 2024-2025 cruise season.
“I’m hoping that the numbers will hold because these are provisional numbers for bookings to come,” James said.
He said his ministry has been in touch with the cruise lines and their agents to let them know that the country is open for business.
James said nine of the calls will be inaugural calls to the destination.
The first call will be at Mayreau on Oct. 21, as the Southern Grenadines is projected to see a 50% increase in calls.
“Some of the islands, for instance, Canouan is now going into double digits,” James said, adding that the first cruise call there will be on Oct. 21.
The first call at Port Kingstown is on Nov. 6.
“For those taxi operators who are more keen on seeing the larger ships to the destination, there has been significant growth and interest in calls to, as I said, Canaan and as well as Union Island,” he said.
There will be 110 cruise calls at Port Kingstown this season. Bequia also goes into triple digits — 104. Union Island would see 45 calls, Mayreau, 55 and Tobago Cays, 50.
Canouan will see 14 calls — up from five last year.
“It’s not really a port in which we see a lot of cruise calls, but this year, they’re now into double digits,” James said.
He said SVG was seeing three consecutive years of growth in cruise calls “with a cruise port that has a limited capacity, that can only berth in Kingstown, two ships, two decent ships at a given time”.
The tourism minister said he was very keen to see the completion of the new cargo port in Kingstown.
He noted that after the new cargo port is completed, there will be enough space in the city to expand the cruise terminal.
“… but also creating a lot more space and acreage for the development of shops and duty-free stalls and an area where we are going to build out a centre for the performing arts,” James said.
“And, of course, all of these attractions and for the creative economy and of course, the tourism sector is going to benefit tremendously our stakeholders and persons who are involved within tourism and culture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”