Air and Sea Arrivals Surge in Caribbean Nations

Caribbean destinations continue to post strong data on post-outbreak arrivals including record-level air and cruise ship traffic.

On Saturday Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica reported 7,000 arriving passengers, the most visitors to the destination since the island's borders were re-opened in July 2020.

The Jamaica travelers arrived on a combined 52 flights from commercial, charter and private carriers, said Jamaica Tourist Board officials in a statement. The commercial airlines were American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit, and Sun Country from the U.S. and Air Canada, Air Transat, West Jet, Sunwing, Swoop and West Jet from Canada.

Most flights also arrived with strong load factors, said Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica's minister of tourism, who described the growing arrivals as "a clear indication that demand for Jamaica's tourism product remains strong."

Bartlett added, "As predicted based on feedback from several of our key international tourism partners, we are progressing well on our path to recovery and expect to welcome approximately 1.5 million visitors this year."

Another Caribbean destination is reporting growing cruise arrivals. St. Kitts and Nevis' four cruise ship ports will host 21 ships this week beginning December 16. Ships scheduled to call at the dual-island nation include Princess Cruises' Enchanted Princess, Seabourn Cruise Line's Seabourn Ovation, Viking Cruises' Viking Sea and Royal Caribbean Intl.'s Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas.

The Saint Kitts and Nevis calls will be split among the Port Zante, Basseterre Harbour, Deep Water Harbour and South Friar's Bay ports. Additionally, Thursday marks the first day the destination will host five ships.