Antigua and Barbuda remains on track to record a bumper year for tourism based on visitor arrivals and the number of cruise ship calls.
On Saturday, after recording its one hundredth cruise call and having welcomed the arrival of over 180,000 visitors, the country recorded another significant achievement on Tuesday when six cruise ships called.
According to Antigua Cruise Port Ltd. (ACP), the country welcomed 10,014 passengers in a single day.
Two of the vessels – the Royal Clipper and Sea Dream II – docked at the Falmouth Harbour.
The other vessels – Celebrity Millennium, Enchanted Princess, Viking Sea, and Costa Fascinos – all docked at the St. John’s Harbour.
Both the ACP and tourism minister, Charles “Max” Fernandez project that cruise passenger arrivals this year will top the 600,000 mark and confirm the “spectacular” recovery of the cruise sector.
With St. John’s Harbour holding its own, ACP’s general manager, Dona Regis-Prosper says her organisation’s sights are now set on the Falmouth Harbour.
According to Regis-Prosper, ACP intends to roll out a strategic marketing plan which will involve attracting more luxury vessels to the country and Falmouth Harbour has been singled out to welcome the new arrivals, in part, because of its historical and other attractions.
“The target for this would be high end vessels with a capacity of 100 to 150 passengers. We are also targeting year-round cruises to boost traffic in the summer period,” she stated.
