Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Puerto Rico and More Drive Surging Caribbean Cruise Tourism with $4.27 Billion Economic Impact

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SOURCE: TRAVEL AND TOUR WORLD: The Florida-Caribbean Association (FCCA), which represents the cruise industry’s interests alongside stakeholders in the Caribbean and Latin America, has announced record economic impacts for the region in the 2023-2024 cruise season. According to a comprehensive study conducted by Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA), titled Economic Contribution of Cruise Tourism to the Destination Economies, cruise tourism in the Caribbean and Latin America generated $4.27 billion in direct expenditures, a remarkable 27% increase over the previous record from 2018. This growth also supported 94,027 jobs across 33 participating destinations, providing a total wage income of $1.27 billion.

Economic Impact by Destination

The study measured direct spending impacts using passenger and crew surveys, cruise line spending on services and provisions, port revenues, and employment related to cruise ship calls. Collected data from local governments, regional development agencies, and international economic organizations helped assess how cruise tourism impacted employment, wages, port fees, and taxes. Here’s a breakdown of the economic contributions by each of the 33 participating destinations in $US Millions:

Total Economic Contribution of Cruise Tourism by Destination

DestinationsDirect Expenditures ($US Millions)Total EmploymentTotal Employee Wages ($US Millions)
Costa Maya187.913,46635.99
Mazatlán34.117576.31
Jamaica②197.856,32253.26
British Virgin Islands85.661,66618.33
Martinique②42.259018.10
St. Kitts & Nevis113.121,67919.57
Bahamas654.7813,846250.16
Antigua & Barbuda88.951,52116.33
Costa Rica32.248517.86
Turks and Caicos116.121,96513.16
Curacao93.261,55736.53
Bonaire33.4562712.20
St. Lucia72.711,75415.78
Aruba133.222,46261.54
Cayman Islands161.512,98867.13
St. Vincent19.284774.81
Key West55.3898133.01
Cozumel483.1011,99895.58
Trinidad5.401962.54
Honduras180.423,38630.59
Grenada22.436045.40
St. Maarten237.875,213104.46
Panama②114.022,97227.40
Barbados②83.482,21132.91
Colombia②49.931,22310.12
U. S. Virgin Islands258.095,095123.71
Progreso25.805554.80
Puerto Rico②201.925,01970.49
Dominican Republic②251.416,46935.25
Guadeloupe②46.128149.40
Ensenada74.861,65413.66
Dominica20.874974.20
Belize88.572,29323.32

Note: Destinations with “②” include both transit and homeport passengers.

Key Economic Contributions and Growth

Across these destinations, the direct spending of $4.27 billion represents a 27% increase from the 2018 report. This growth in spending has also brought 94,027 jobs (a 19% increase) to the region, paying $1.27 billion in wages. The region welcomed 29.4 million onshore visits from cruise passengers, each of whom spent an average of $104.36—totaling $3.07 billion in onshore passenger expenditures. Additionally, 3.9 million onshore visits from crew members generated $229.5 million, with crew members spending an average of $58.78 per visit.

Cruise lines themselves contributed significantly with $968.3 million in direct spending, averaging $29.3 million per destination. In all, the 33.3 million passenger and crew visits represent a 13% increase over the last study. In the 31 destinations common to both the 2018 and 2024 studies, passenger visits increased by 17%.

Rising Passenger Spend per Destination

The average per-passenger spend increased in 26 of the 31 common destinations, and 14 destinations recorded average spending above $100 per passenger—up from 12 in 2018. Destinations like The Bahamas, Cozumel, USVI, Dominican Republic, and St. Maarten led the economic impact rankings, collectively representing 44% of the total cruise tourism expenditures. On average, a single transit cruise call with 4,000 passengers and 1,640 crew results in $369,100 in spending$339,800 from passengers and $29,300 from crew.

Breakdown of Spending by Category

Passenger spending, when broken down by category, demonstrated a focus on four main areas: shore excursions, jewelry, food and beverages, and clothing, which collectively made up 80% of all passenger expenditures. Shore excursions emerged as the top expenditure, with 55% of passengers purchasing a shore excursion at each destination, adding an average of $40.44 per passenger to local economies through tour operators.

The economic study measured direct cruise tourism expenditures but did not factor in indirect economic benefits such as the purchases made by tour operators, restaurants, and port authorities. Nor did it include spending from passengers who return as stay-over guests or other methods of cruise line contributions, like NGO partnerships and marketing efforts.

Passenger and Crew Arrivals

A total of 29.4 million passengers disembarked their ships to explore the 33 participating destinations. This produced $3.07 billion in spending on activities like shore excursions, dining, shopping, and other services. Per-passenger spending ranged widely, from $58.68 in Trinidad to a high of $190.61 in Panama. The USVI ($166.22) and St. Maarten ($163.45) followed close behind Panama in high average spending. The average per-passenger spend was $104.36, a 3% increase from the previous study’s $101.52.

The Bahamas led all destinations in total passenger expenditures with $473.3 million—15% of the total passenger spending across all destinations. Nine additional destinations each saw over $100 million in passenger expenditures, including Cozumel ($392 million)USVI ($221 million)St. Maarten ($180 million)Dominican Republic ($162 million)Costa Maya ($145 million)Puerto Rico ($143 million)Jamaica ($140 million)Honduras ($139 million), and Cayman Islands ($119 million). Combined, these top 10 destinations accounted for 69% of onshore passenger expenditures across the 33 destinations, totaling $2.1 billion.

Passengers Onshore Visits and Expenditures by Destination

DestinationsPassenger Onshore Visits (Thousands)Average Spend per Passenger ($US)Total Passenger Expenditures ($US Millions)
U. S. Virgin Islands1,331.6166.22221.34
Mazatlán348.275.9426.44
Key West424.791.1538.71
Cozumel3,561.9110.01391.84
Bahamas3,914.0120.93473.32
Jamaica②1,196.0117.09140.04
Aruba715.2131.0593.73
St. Maarten1,099.8163.45179.77
Trinidad65.958.683.87
Honduras1,404.599.20139.32
Costa Rica228.272.7416.60
St. Kitts & Nevis562.1145.0881.55
Bonaire351.873.9726.02
Antigua & Barbuda712.482.3958.70
Curacao641.678.0150.05
Grenada257.462.8316.17
St. Vincent195.259.3911.59
Progreso267.562.8716.82
Barbados②611.481.9750.12
Puerto Rico②1,516.394.57143.40
Ensenada662.763.6842.20
Dominican Republic②2,036.179.78162.45
Cayman Islands1,026.3115.68118.73
Turks and Caicos796.7102.2281.43
Belize738.087.4264.51
British Virgin Islands685.572.4949.69
Colombia②290.6122.5035.60
Martinique②396.976.2330.25
Panama②283.8190.6154.09
Guadeloupe②323.2105.1333.98
Dominica254.263.1716.06
St. Lucia446.484.9537.94

Note: Destinations with “②” include both transit and homeport passengers.

Passenger Behavior and Spending Patterns

The passenger survey revealed important spending behaviors. Out of 40,783 cruise parties surveyed64% reported their first visit to the destination, and 95% disembarked to explore onshore. 67% of passengers who went ashore made at least one purchase, spending an average of $130.42 per party, excluding excursions. 57% of those surveyed purchased shore excursions; of those, 77% booked their excursion through the cruise line. The typical cost of a shore excursion averaged $148.73 per party.

Passenger and Crew Arrivals at Participating Destinations

Based on data collected from the participating destinations and supplementary sources, an estimated 35.1 million passengers boarded cruise ships that visited the 33 participating destinations during the 2023/2024 cruise year. Including 12.8 million crew arrivals, the cruise industry brought a total of 47.9 million passengers and crew to these destinations over the course of the season.

Among the 33 participating destinations, 18 locations each welcomed over one million combined passenger and crew arrivals, underscoring their popularity and economic significance in the region. These high-traffic destinations include Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Costa Maya in Mexico, Cozumel in Mexico, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Ensenada in Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos, and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Collectively, these 18 destinations accounted for an impressive 84% of all passenger and crew arrivals among the participating locations.

Regional Distribution of Arrivals

The distribution of passenger and crew arrivals across different parts of the Caribbean and Mexico reveals how each subregion contributed to the total 47.9 million arrivals:

Eastern Caribbean21.7 million passengers and crew arrived in this area, which includes 11 key destinations, representing 45% of the total arrivals among the participating destinations.

Southern Caribbean6.9 million passengers and crew visited the 10 Southern Caribbean destinations, accounting for 14% of total arrivals.

Western Caribbean8.5 million arrivals were recorded across 7 destinations in the Western Caribbean, making up 18% of the total.

Mexico: The five Mexican cruise destinations received 10.5 million passengers and crew, or 23% of total arrivals among the 33 participating destinations.

These numbers underscore the appeal of the Caribbean and Mexico as major hubs in the global cruise industry, driven by their strategic locations, unique attractions, and popularity with tourists worldwide.

Looking Ahead: FCCA’s Continued Engagement

As the FCCA works with destination partners to maximize economic benefits, its 30th Annual Cruise Conference & Trade Show in St. Maarten this year emphasized strengthening these economic gains. Through workshops, meetings, and networking, FCCA aims to enhance sustainable growth and mutual benefits for all involved in the cruise industry. By fostering partnerships with cruise executives, FCCA continues to drive progress and prosperity for destinations across the Caribbean and Latin America.

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