Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 10, 2020 (SKNIS): Tourism in St. Kitts and Nevis continues to shine with the arrival to 16, 725 visitors, 11, 795 passengers and 4,930 crew, from five cruise liners.
The Norwegian Gem with 2471 passengers and 1096 crew; the Symphony of the Seas with 5797 passengers and 2198 crew; and the Azura with 3010 passengers and 1185 crew docked at Port Zante, while the Sea Dream 2 with 100 passengers and 93 crew anchored at South Friars Bay on March 10. The Seabourn Odyssey berthed on March 9 at Port Zante with 417 passengers and 358 crew.
On July 16, 2018, St. Kitts and Nevis made history by being recognized by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) as a marquee tourist destination with the arrival of the one millionth cruise passenger to its shores. This tremendous feat was repeated a second time for the 2018-19 cruise season.
Additionally, St. Kitts and Nevis was recently named the Cruise Destination of the Year by Caribbean Journal in the publication’s Caribbean Travel Awards 2020.
With the boom in the tourism industry in the country, a second cruise pier was built at Port Zante to accommodate two more oasis class cruise vessels. The Celebrity Summit and the Seabourn Odyssey docked for the first time at the second cruise pier on December 16, 2019.
As countries around the world continue to grapple with the fallout in the tourism industry from COVID-19, St. Kitts and Nevis is grateful that its economy to date remains intact and that there has been no confirmed case thus far of COVID-19 in the country as an all hands on deck approach to mitigate any eventuality continues.