The Ministry of Tourism and Culture is today in a celebratory mood, as the 2003 visitor expenditure figures released from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank are revealing a significant increase over the 2002 figures.{{more}}
According to the ECCB, total visitor expenditure in 2003 totaled 229.33 million Eastern Caribbean dollars. During the period 2001 to 2003, visitor expenditure increased by 13 million dollars; in 2002 visitor expenditure was 223.82 million dollars, while the years 2001 and 2000 registered figures of 216.45 and 203.43 million dollars respectively.
Meanwhile, stay-over arrivals to St. Vincent and the Grenadines increased by 1.1 per cent in 2003 with a total of 78,535 visitors. Caribbean visitor arrivals registered an 8.4 per cent increase over 2002, with the total number of Caribbean visitors being 32,775. Airport statistics for 2003 reflected an increase of 8 per cent in passenger traffic with the E.T. Joshua Airport registering a 9 per cent increase. Same-day arrivals to the country also registered an increase of 4.8 per cent over the 2002 figures with a total of 13,696 same-day visitors.
The last two months of 2003 saw significant increases in cruise-visitor arrivals, with the month of November registering an increase of 35.4 per cent and December an increase of 163.8% over the 2002 figures.
Visitor arrivals in 2003 totaled 241,784, with noticeable increases recorded in the last quarter of 2003; the month of October registered a 12.2 per cent increase, November an increase of 11.7 per cent and December an increase of 58.2 per cent.