“We are thrilled, excited to announce four vessels here in Soufriere. In January we marked three and we were really proud of that accomplishment,” exclaimed Communications and Marketing Manager of the Saint Lucia Cruise Port, Raquel Preville on Friday as Port Soufriere welcomed four of seven cruise vessels which docked in Saint Lucia.
In January 2025, Soufriere welcomed its then most cruise arrivals as three shipped anchored in the harbour. Less than one month later, that record was topped.
According to the Cruise Port official, these arrivals bode well for Soufriere residents, especially stakeholders most involved in the tourism industry. “With more vessels, more persons are becoming aware of St. Lucia, more persons can experience our culture. We focus on our people here in Saint Lucia. We are looking at the taxi drivers, the vendors, the tour operators and doing everything in our power that we can do to assist,” she explained.
Chairman of the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation (SRDF), Ernest Augier, says the internationally recognised Sulphur City is in for a major transformation. He notes that interest in Soufriere has been increasing incrementally over the years, and with the port redevelopment project, interest is now skyrocketing.
“We’ve been seeing a very phenomenal rise in tourism arrivals throughout the season, which spells good for us in Soufriere and for the industry. It really is a collaborative effort among all the parties, the government, the Ministry of Tourism, our district representative, the SRDF, and the other partners in Soufriere. We’ve done all the preparatory work to make sure that the visitors do have a great experience.”
Soufriere MP, Emma Hippolyte says under her stewardship, Soufriere will continue advancing as she is working with stakeholders and investors alike to bring more business to the town.
“We had a lot of damage done after Hurricane Beryl, but I want to thank the Foundation and the GPH team for the work that they’ve done in terms of preparing us for these arrivals. The good thing is the tourism dollar is getting down to the basic man on the street – the vendors, the taxi drivers, the hotel operators.”
The GPH Port Redevelopment Project is expected to increase the port’s holding capacity to accommodate additional ships as well as the refashioning of the Soufriere waterfront.
