Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 5, 2019 (SKNIS): President of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), Michele Paige has expressed confidence that, in the next three years, St. Kitts and Nevis will have the highest passenger spending in the Caribbean.
“Right now in the Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) study, your passengers spend one hundred and thirty-five dollars and ninety-four cents ($135.94),” which Ms. Paige said was above average. She said this during the FCCA Operations Committee Meeting on November 04, 2019 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
The BREA report was engaged by the FCCA and participating cruise destinations to conduct an analysis of cruise-related spending and its impact on the economies of the participating destinations.
St. Kitts and Nevis is ranked third overall in Average Spend per Passenger, with the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Maarten ranked above with $165.42 and $142.23, respectively.
According to the BREA 2017/2018 Report – which measures the economic impact of the cruise tourism industry in 36 destinations throughout the Caribbean, Mexico and Central and South America – total passenger spend in St. Kitts and Nevis (2014/2015) was US $75.30 million compared with US $133.02 million (2017/2018). That is a growth of 77 percent from 2014/2015 to 2017/2018. Local taxi service and tour operators are certainly reaping the benefits, as well as other tourism stakeholders.
The average time spent off the vessel she claims right now is 4.4 hours. As such, the President of the FCCA, advises the stakeholders to implement strategies to increase the average time in St. Kitts and Nevis, as this will lead to a further increase in spending in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Ms. Paige also said that the partnership between the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and the FCCA is of the highest compatibility. She noted that “when we (the FCCA) say we need something, you [the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis] say we can do it and we can do it better than anybody else.”
