Tourism in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is “stronger, more resilient and economically-viable than any period in our nation’s history,” Minister of Tourism Carlos James said on Monday.
“For 2025, we are already 70,000 in stay-over visitors between the period January to July, which is some 16% ahead of the same period in 2024 and surpassing the 12.8% growth experience in the Q1 of 2023,” he said during the State of the Tourism Industry Conference, in Kingstown.
The minister said 2025 is poised to be another record-breaking year in stayover visitors to SVG.
“Comparatively speaking, of the 20 reporting destinations of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, St. Vincent and the Grenadines reported the strongest growth from the US market of 74.8% in the first quarter of 2025,” James said.
This is followed by Curacao, at 23.5% and Barbados at 22%.
“Of course, a lot of this is credited to our expansion in airlines and connectivity, but also major hotel developments on island, including the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Sandals, Myah’s Suites, and expansion of Paradise Beach, Beachcombers, Hotel Alexandrina — all of the local hotels here on island.”
The minister said that in 2024, SVG welcomed, for the very first time, over 100,000 stay-over visitors.
The number was a year-on-year increase of 27%, “making us one of the fastest growing destinations in the Caribbean”, he said at the conference, which was attended by government officials and industry stakeholders.
He said that while cruise calls remain consistent, cruise lines are predicting full capacity in the coming cruise season.
“Major hotels on island are already showing signs of increased bookings during the winter period, registering bookings on average of 60 to 70. At this early stage, we’re at 60 to 70% capacity during the winter season.”
James said yachting continues to rebound following the passage of Hurricane Beryl, adding that the launch of SVG’s first sailing week, and the re-emergence of the Bequia regatta have generated international coverage, attracting a higher yield of visitors who spend more on local services and provisioning.
“And of course, we are still setting sail as it relates to the recovery of our yachting sector.
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He said the Vincentian market attracts about 36% of all yacht visitors to the Eastern Caribbean, with St. Lucia at 32%, Grenada at 15% and Antigua at 14%.
“Combined, air, cruise, yacht arrivals generated an estimated $618 million in tourism receipts in 2024, an increase of 8.8% year-on-year from the previous period,” James said.
During the first six months of 2025, visitor expenditure increased by 3% over the same period last year, “an indication that the total visitor expenditure will surpass those record numbers we have seen in 2024”.
James said that looking ahead, the continued success of the tourism industry in SVG depends on everyone working together.
“I, therefore, encourage you as stakeholders to push for greater collaboration with our destination partners, travel advisors, vacation arms of the airlines, tour operators and community tourism stakeholders, artisans, creatives, the transportation sector, and, importantly, governance, and, importantly, farmers and fishers,” James said.
“Collectively, this is the perfect symmetry which makes our ecosystem in tourism work.”
The minister said that over the past two years, SVG has seen significant growth in airlift.
“Virgin Atlantic continues to strengthen the UK gateway, while American Airlines, JetBlue and Air Canada remain solid partners.”
From Dec. 20, SVG will welcome Delta Airlines with direct service from Atlanta to Argyle International Airport.
“This is a game changer, particularly among group travel persons who are travelling from the diaspora markets and, of course, tapping into the US South coast, where we have not been able to penetrate for a number of years,” James said.
He said negotiations are ongoing with other airlines to broaden connectivity in the coming year.
Regionally, the government is working with LIAT2020, interCaribbean, SVG Air, Caribbean Airlines, Sunrise and Winair to ensure reliable inter-Island access.
James said the goal of his ministry is to inspire cruise visitors to return as stay-over visitors.
“… this requires immersive-experience excursions, trained guides and engaging communities ready to host our welcoming guests,” James said.
Tourism numbers and hotel projects look good on paper, but they don’t fix the real struggles Vincentians face daily poverty, high cost of living, and failing schools. Building hotels isn’t enough. What we need is creativity, problem-solving, and investment that actually improves the lives of ordinary people, not just visitor statistics.