Saint Lucia recorded its highest-ever number of stay-over arrivals for the month of April in 2026, according to Tourism and Investment Minister Ernest Hilaire, who says the latest figures point to continued resilience and growth within the island’s tourism sector.
Speaking during the Government’s pre-cabinet press briefing on May 26, Hilaire announced that stay-over arrivals for April 2026 reached 40,752 visitors.
“In April 2026, stay over arrivals totaled 40,752, representing an 8.5% increase compared to April 2025, which was 37,546,” Hilaire revealed. “This level of arrivals reflects the highest on record for stay-over arrivals in the month of April,” he added.
According to the minister, the increase signals continued strength in visitor demand despite challenges affecting parts of the global tourism industry.
“This strong performance reflects a notable improvement in visitor demand during the month and signals continued resilience in the stay-over segments,” Hilaire stated.
The minister also outlined positive year-to-date figures for the tourism industry.
“On a year-to-year basis, January to April, stay over arrivals reached 159,084, representing a 3.7% increase over the same period in 2025, which was 153,405,” he said.
Saint Lucia’s cruise sector also posted substantial growth during the month of April.
“Cruise arrivals in April 2026 total 53,461, representing a 34% increase compared to April 2025, which was 49,756,” Hilaire disclosed.
He further noted that total cruise arrivals for the first four months of the year climbed significantly.
“On a year-to-date basis, cruise arrivals reached 418,174, up 9% over the same period in 2025,” the minister explained. “This performance reflects continued strength in the cruise sector and its important contribution to total visitor arrivals.”
Overall visitor arrivals, including stay-over, cruise and yachting visitors, also recorded major gains.
“Total visitor arrivals, stayover, cruise and yachting total 99,162 in April 2026, representing a 23% increase compared to April 2025, which was 80,748,” Hilaire stated. “On a year-to-date basis, January to April, total arrivals reached 596,662, up 7% compared to the same period in 2025,” he added.
Hilaire said the United States market continues to dominate Saint Lucia’s tourism industry, although other markets are also showing encouraging growth.
“Of course, the US market continues to dominate,” he said. “We had a 3.8% increase in April 2026 over April 2025 for the US market.”
The minister highlighted what he described as a particularly strong rebound from Canada.
“The Canadian market had a very strong performance. April 2026 had a 45.9% increase compared to April 2025,” he noted. “That’s really good news for us that the Canadian market is coming back on stream.”
However, Hilaire acknowledged ongoing challenges within the United Kingdom market.
“We continue to see a decline in the UK market, with April this year showing a 15% decline compared to April last year,” he said.
Regional travel from the Caribbean also experienced substantial growth.
“The Caribbean market also showed some very strong growth in April, recording a 49.6% increase over April 2025,” Hilaire explained.
“So far for the year, compared to January to April last year, we’ve seen a 17% increase in the Caribbean market. Barbados is performing strongly, Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago also performing very strongly.”
Looking ahead, the minister suggested that the momentum is expected to continue into the next month.
“We’re also expecting May to be very good, probably one of our best arrivals in terms of May,” Hilaire stated.