SVG expects more than 350 cruise calls as tourism activity expands

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: More than 350 cruise ship calls are expected across Saint Vincent and the Grenadines during the 2026/27 cruise season, as the country continues efforts to expand its cruise tourism sector and increase benefits for local businesses.

The 2026/27 schedule also includes eight inaugural cruise visits, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

As per the Tourism Minister Kishore Shallow, the increase means more faith of people in the destination. He said that the surge in cruise tourism is due to the efforts made by the government to boost the country’s economy.

He claimed that the increase in tourism will put more money in the pockets of Vincentians.

This will in turn create more demand in the economy, thereby giving a major push to the economy. Eight new ships are expected to be added. Surge will be beneficial for taxi operators, vendors, hotels etc. It will give more employment to people.

The cruise tourism is expected to increase the business for locals, which will be looking to further enhance the businesses across the country. In view of the expected surge, various improvements are in progress, like the infrastructure needs, ensuring easy ATM facilities, and easy access of information for the visitors.

More than 100 projects are underway to enhance visitor experience. These plans include developing waterfalls and a new online platform to make sure all important services are available for tourists online itself. The minister also emphasised that promoting the destination and its improvement both must go together and that one should not be focusing only on one aspect while ignoring the other.

The visitor experience should beat the market expectations. The Tourism minister stated that no country is without incidents but described SVG as completely safe. The Tourism ministry is also being upgraded to keep it at pace with the changing times. He also said that Global Ports Holding is also coming which could support further economic growth.

An estimate of 250,000 passengers become part of the SVG cruise. The government aims to double the number to 500,000 within the next three to five years. This is expected to boost employment opportunities for the people and improve the health of the SVG economy.