The hot streak for St. Lucia tourism continues. The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority has announced that September was unprecedented in terms of visitor arrivals to the island—including stayover arrivals—adding to a stretch of seven record-breaking months of increases for 2019.
Captured figures indicate that St. Lucia received 21,608 stayover visitors for the month of September, a 15 percent increase from last September and the largest percentage increase for the year.
This figure also surpasses the record set in 2017 (20,049) by more than 1,000 additional visitors, or 7.8 percent, in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria that severely affected several other Caribbean islands that month.
Most of this growth was driven by the 15 percent increase in arrivals from the U.S. market—an additional 1,156 visitors, despite there being no major difference in airlift from that market.
The second-largest real growth (1,144 additional visitors) was seen in the Caribbean market, which grew by 25 percent, owing in large measure to the hosting of Caribbean Premier League cricket, endorsed under the Caribcation banner.
All other markets (except the U.K. and other parts of Europe) increased by double digits in September, with France and Canada in the lead with 52 percent and 43 percent increases, respectively.
Despite the positive trends, St. Lucia Tourism Minister Hon. Dominic Fedee says they “will not stop in exploring every possible avenue, program, policy or niche, that will keep us top of mind in the marketplace so as to drive visitor arrivals to our destination.”
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