Tourism arrivals have gone up by 28% says Minister for Tourism Hon. Dr. Ernest Hilaire.
In a Monday briefing, the minister shared that the tourism arrivals for the first third of the year have gone up by 28% in comparison to last year.
He says 2019 has been the biggest year for tourism and currently the island is at 95% of where it was in 2019.
“ The good news is that for the year, year on year we’re up 28% on last year’s tourism arrivals.. up to April the first third, we are up to 28%. The month of April we were up 13% on April last year. So right now we up to 95% of where we were in 2019, 2019 was the biggest year for Saint Lucia and we up to 95% of where we were in 2019.” he shared.
Hilaire says even without the return of the regional market which is currently at 50%, he is pleased.
With expectations of a stable summer in regards to air transport not being as available as it was in the past, the winter season along with the cruise season is expected to be very successful.
“ With the regional market still not coming back, we’re still at just about 50% of the regional market… That’s very very good. We expect the summer to stabilize a bit because you know a lot of the airlift is not there as it was before, although we have a lot of empty seats still but we expecting cue for the winter season to be a really good one, we expecting the cruise season to also be a very good one.” he disclosed to reporters.
The minister says the interest in Saint Lucia has evidently grown and there is a greater demand for the island.
Photo: Media Stock
