Yachting hit from Beryl; record number of cruise calls expected

The passage of Hurricane Beryl has resulted in a slight decline to the yachting sector in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), while there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of stay over arrivals for the first six months of 2024.

In addition, the upcoming cruise season is expected to see an increase in cruise calls and a record number of passengers coming into the destination.

The tourism-related figures were presented by Minister of Tourism, Carlos James, at a press conference on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 where he explained that the yachting sector experienced a slight decline and is expected to drop further.

“We have seen a drop in yachting by 1.7 percent and I do expect and anticipate a further decline due to some consolations post-Beryl.”

Minister James said a local team is expected to meet with charter companies in a few weeks to discuss support to partners and marketing initiatives.

On the cruise side, SVG is expected to receive 378 calls, nine of which are inaugural calls. Projected cruise visitor arrivals for the 2024/2025 season is 317,115 passengers. These numbers represent a 10 percent increase on last year’s calls. The first cruise call for the season is scheduled for Mayreau on October 21, while Port Kingstown will have its first call on November 6. Canouan will see an increase in cruise calls with 14 expected calls, up from five last year.

For stay-over arrivals, the year-on-year comparison shows a 30 percent increase for January to July when compared to the same period in 2025.
“What we are seeing is just over 11,000 to 12,000 more arrivals in comparison to last year,” James said.

“So though we’re seeing a slight decline by 1. 7 per cent in yachting. I think the takeaway is that we are looking at the more favourable tourism season-that these are the first six months of the year this year, in comparison to last year, and in comparison to our pre COVID [19] numbers…”
Preliminary figures show that for the month of July, close to 8,300 passengers visited St Vincent and the Grenadines and Minister James said, despite the uncertainties caused by the passage of Hurricane Beryl, carnival numbers did not decline significantly.

“Despite the passage of hurricane Beryl, our numbers actually held. We recorded some 8,284 passengers to the destinations,” but these numbers are provisional.

Minister James also announced the arrival of four new airlines to service St Vincent and the Grenadines. These include LIAT 2020 which will commence flights from October 4, JetBlue on October 9, Sunrise on October 28, and Winair on November 15.