Winter tourism season makes positive swing

The winter cruise tourism which started off “extremely slow” is now yielding very positive results based on information provided by the head of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association (ABCTA). The season started off with the arrival of five cruise vessels in October which brought over 14,000 visitors to Antigua and Barbuda. In November, 109,000 passengers were welcomed to the island from 47 vessels.
President of the Cruise Tourism Association Nathan Dundas said that the number of cruise passengers expected to arrive during December and early in the new year also looks very promising. “For December, so far, we have had 22 calls with about 40,000 passengers. We are expecting at least 70 calls in the month of December. We are also looking forward to some good days during the holiday season starting from December 23,” Dundas said.
He explained that on that day three ships will dock at the St. John’s Habour, while one will disembark in Barbuda. On Christmas Eve, four cruise ships will dock in St. John’s, three on Christmas Day and four on Boxing Day. “We are anticipating about 80 calls in January 2019, 65 in February and 70 calls in the month of March. For the season so far, we have welcomed three new vessels. We are hoping that all our taxi drivers, vendors, and store owners will benefit from this cruise season,” Dundas said.