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Basseterre, St. Kitts – April 30, 2025 — Despite bold projections and high-profile declarations by the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration, the Federation’s cruise tourism sector continues to lag far behind its pre-pandemic glory days. With the curtain now closed on the 2024–2025 cruise season, St. Kitts and Nevis has once again failed to hit the elusive 1 million passenger mark, recording only 748,056 arrivals—a figure that has left tourism insiders and citizens disillusioned.

At the start of the season, Prime Minister Dr. Hon. Terrance Drew and Tourism Minister Hon. Marsha T. Henderson confidently touted an unprecedented rebound, promising over 1 million cruise visitors would arrive between October 2024 and April 2025. But as the season concludes, the reality is a far cry from the fantasy.

A Shortfall That Can’t Be Ignored

Not only did the 2024–2025 season fall short of its own target by over 250,000 passengers, but the nation also remains well below its pre-COVID cruise benchmarks. According to data from the Caribbean Development Bank and Media Institute of the Caribbean, St. Kitts and Nevis welcomed 978,366 cruise passengers in 2019, and surpassed the 1 million mark in 2018, marking two consecutive years of world-class performance under the Team Unity administration, led by then Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris and Tourism Minister Lindsay Grant.

In contrast, the 2023–2024 cruise season closed at just 670,014 arrivals, with this year’s modest improvement to 748,056 still falling over 200,000 visitors short of the peak years.

Port Zante No Longer the Powerhouse

Once considered one of the Caribbean’s marquee cruise destinations under Team Unity’s leadership—with Port Zante drawing international acclaim—St. Kitts is now struggling to regain its footing. The much-celebrated rise of Port Zante has given way to disappointment and underperformance, as critics point to a lack of strategic planning, infrastructure stagnation, and overreliance on inflated PR narratives from the current administration.

Empty Promises or Empty Docks?

The SKNLP government’s narrative of recovery and growth has now been undercut by cold, hard data. With no season since 2019 even coming close to the 1 million milestone, the question remains: Was the promise ever based in reality—or political fantasy?

A tourism veteran commented anonymously, “It’s time for the government to stop blaming the pandemic and start facing the facts. We’ve done it before. Why can’t we do it again?”

As regional competitors surge ahead in post-pandemic cruise recovery, St. Kitts and Nevis finds itself treading water—still chasing the shadow of its former success.