Over 500,000 passengers dock at Antigua in five months

Antigua and Barbuda: Over 500,000 passengers have been docked at St John’s Harbour through cruise vessels in the last five months, marking a new milestone in the industry. The government of Antigua and Barbuda shared the optimistic report of the cruise arrivals and said that the country welcomed the calls of 253 ships.

As per Rawle Reynolds- Operations Manager at the Antigua Cruise Port, the 253 vessels have brought over 496,000 passengers into the country till May 5, 2024, which is a historic figure for the tourism industry.

Notably, the number of cruise arrivals has been reached at 501, 000 with the docking of the two large cruise vessels such as Celebrity Beyond and Norwegian Sky. The reports outlined that visitor arrivals have pushed the local tourism sector by providing significant benefits to street vendors, local taxi drivers, tour guides, restaurants, and other services.

Through these cruise passengers, the activities at several ports of Antigua and Barbuda have remained alive throughout the 2024/2025 season. The surge in visitors has also surpassed the figures that were recorded in the previous years in the cruise industry.

In addition to that, the pre-packed tours have also benefited the tourism economy by offering exceptional business to the locals. It also abuzz the tourist hotspots of Antigua and Barbuda and enhance the tourist activities across the country.

Street vendors and local small business holders have also expressed their happiness and said that the ports have brought them great business as they have become able to sell a lot more than in previous years. One owner of Bruney’s cake and pastries Raymond Bruney- added, ”The season has remained quite lucky for us as we do not only manage to cover the cost of their products, but also earned profit, which is satisfying.”

Another named Frank Charles- a taxi driver, added, ”The pre-packed tours of the passengers have made him earn quite well as the ports of Antigua and Barbuda have remained quite busy during this season. The cruise ships have always brought great business for us, but this year, it was quite exciting and great.”

Notably, the year of 2024 has turned out to be great success for Antigua and Barbuda with the surge in the number of the cruise arrivals. The country welcomed over 10,000 passengers in a single day on January 4, 2024 and the trend further recorded on March 12, with the docking of 15,808 passengers. These passengers have arrived through five cruise ships that were docked at St John’s.

The season ended with the record-breaking successful homeporting of P&O cruises Arvia, Emerald Sakara, Royal Clipper, and Sea Dream.

As per the reports, Antigua and Barbuda is expected to welcome over 800,000 cruise passengers by the end of 2024, marking a great milestone for the season.