St Kitts cruise arrivals more than double in May

“This of course is due to the hard work of the officials in the Ministry of Tourism, the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority, the shipping agents, other stakeholders including taxi drivers, craft vendors, tour operators and service providers,” sai

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, June 25, 2009 – The St Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) is reporting a 154 per cent increase in cruise passengers in St Kitts last month when compared to the sector’s performance in the same period last year.

Figures from SCASPA’s Department of Finance and Statistics indicate that 15,217 cruise passengers visited the island in May 2009, while 5,217 cruise passengers came in May last year.

“This of course is due to the hard work of the officials in the Ministry of Tourism, the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority, the shipping agents, other stakeholders including taxi drivers, craft vendors, tour operators and service providers,” said Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Dr Denzil Douglas.

He said Minister of State for Tourism, Senator Richard Skerritt would continue to work closely with the cruise lines to attract more ships to the island during the off-season.

Cruise liner Princess Cruises has already booked three of its six ships to visit St Kitts’ Port Zante over the next two seasons.

The Emerald Princess, Grand Princess and Sea Princess will make a combined total of 50 visits between September 2010 and April 2011.