British Virgin Islands to welcome total of 90,000 visitors by the end of September 2015
By
Rebecca Gibson |
The BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) has recorded a significant rise in the number of summer cruise passengers visiting the British Virgin Islands this year.
Between 2012 and 2014, an average of 23,000 cruise passengers visited between May and September, but preliminary figures for 2015 suggest that around 70,705 passengers will visit during this period. It is estimated that by the end of September, cruise passenger arrivals will exceed 90,000.
“We are elated to report the unprecedented growth in cruise passengers, which goes to show that the recent cruise pier expansion has already begun to achieve the Government of the Virgin Islands’ mandate to increase cruise passengers and create a year round cruise tourism calendar,” said Claud O. Skelton Cline, managing director of the BVIPA. “It’s important to note that the arrivals are only reflective of arrivals during what is called our slow season, which gives us renewed confidence going into the 2015-2016 cruise season.”
The BVI Cruise Pier expansion was completed in April, while the accompanying Tortola Pier Park landside development is due to open before the end of the year.