Antigua welcomed over 50,000 passengers in January

Antigua and Barbuda: After a downfall during the pandemic, the cruise sector of Antigua and Barbuda has been again soaring high. The island country has been witnessing a sudden increase in the number of ships reaching the ports.

According to the official statics by the ministry of tourism, in January 2022, around 64 ships reached one of the seven berths, carrying about 50,794 passengers. The highest number of passengers – 2039, arrived on January 19, 2022, from Carnival Magic.

The sudden rise has come as a surprise to the island, as the company earlier announced that it would not get back on the water between March 31 and mid-May 2022.

The inaugural call of the Carnival legend of Carnival Cruise Line Australia was embraced by the island country. The cruise line Australia is the third vessel of the Carnival Fleet to call on Antigua for a year. On January 20, the fifth berth was adorned with the five ships.

Colin James, CEO of Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, notified that just 176 cruise calls were scheduled for the first three months of 2022. He added that the authority had anticipated more growth in mid-2022.

CEO James was quoted saying, “Antigua and Barbuda is excited to work with these cruise lines as they would provide us the advantage, in providing the safe venue and safe destination for the travellers/ guests of the country”.

After the closure because of COVID-19, the cruise tourism of the twin-island restarted in July 2021. The tourism was commenced with the super luxurious ‘Star Breeze,’ carrying hundreds of fully vaccinated people. The authorities of Antigua and Barbuda ordered the staff to be fully vaccinated.

As per the trends in January, the scheduled ships arrived in Antigua and Barbuda with hundreds and thousands of passengers.

The cruise tourism sector plays a crucial role in the economy of the twin-island, each year.