The Caribbean nation of St. Maarten is gearing up for a giant cruise yr in 2025. The CEO of Port St. Maarten Group, Alexander Gumbs, says that its cruise forecast predicts that the vacation spot will welcome over 1.5 million cruise passengers subsequent yr.
“We are on track of growth as international cruise industry figures show that cruise tourism is resilient and rebounding faster than other forms of travel and tourism,” he mentioned. “Since the pandemic, our own cruise numbers have been growing annually and this is a great rebound. It shows confidence that the cruise industry has in us as a destination, however, we must not be complacent and continue to offer our guests new experiences.”
Regardless of the promising quantity predicted, the nation nonetheless isn’t projected to succeed in its pre-pandemic numbers of 1.63 million cruise passengers subsequent yr, which was its 2019 determine. Its peak of 1.66 million cruise guests was achieved in 2016.
Sint Maarten will have the ability to showcase what it has to supply in the course of the thirtieth Florida-Caribbean Cruise Affiliation (FCCA) Cruise Convention & Tradeshow this fall, the place round 800 cruise line, tourism vacation spot, and port authority representatives will probably be in attendance.
“Hitting 1.5 million passenger mark shows St. Maarten constantly listens to and enacts the cruise industry’s wants and needs. We look forward to helping St. Maarten reach even higher milestones in the future through our great partnership and hosting the FCCA Cruise Conference and Trade Show in October,” mentioned Michele Paige, CEO of FCCA.
Primarily based on world cruise business statistics, 2023 cruise passenger quantity world wide stood at 31.7 million, which surpassed 2019 by seven p.c. Normal cruise business forecasting for cruise capability exhibits a rise of 10 p.c from 2024 by 2028. By 2027, cruising is forecast to develop to just about 40 million passengers across the globe.
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