Saint Lucia is experiencing a steady rise in cruise arrivals, with Tourism and Investment Minister Ernest Hilaire reporting impressive growth figures as the island enters the height of the cruise season.
“The cruise arrivals increased by 11 percent. That is one of our best Januaries ever,” Minister Hilaire said.
He highlighted the strong performance of key markets, adding, “The U.S. market continues to show significant growth, increasing by over 11 percent. Canada increased by 8.5 percent. So, in both North America, both USA and Canada, we saw continued increases in arrivals.”
Alongside the rise in cruise visitors, official data from the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority show that stay‑over arrivals have also been climbing steadily. In November 2025, Saint Lucia welcomed 36,255 stay‑over visitors, a 7 percent increase over November 2024 and the highest number ever recorded for that month, contributing to a strong year‑to‑date total of 385,160 stay‑over arrivals from January through November.
The upward trajectory reflects broader tourism success following full recovery from the pandemic. In 2024, the island recorded a 14 percent rise in total stay‑over arrivals, reaching about 435,959 visitors, surpassing pre‑pandemic figures by around 3 percent.
Minister Hilaire also outlined ongoing and upcoming developments aimed at boosting tourism infrastructure.
“Towards the ending of the year, the opening of the Life Co Family Resort and first quarter of next year, the opening of the Hotel in Canelles. We’re hoping over the next 15 months for sure to start seeing the construction of a number of properties coming on stream and the increases in room stock, you know, certainly bringing greater benefit to us.”
In addition to accommodation expansion, improvements to public beach facilities are underway.
“On public beaches, both for locals and for visitors, you have no toilet facilities, you have no lifeguard available, and we have to move beyond that. So, you will see for sure this year, the opening of the Mt. Pimard beach facility that will provide toilet facilities as well as vending facilities. The Reduit beach, we are also going to provide toilet facilities,” Hilaire confirmed.
With these developments, Saint Lucia is positioning itself to handle higher visitor volumes while enhancing safety and convenience for both residents and tourists.