The docks of Old San Juan are a busy point of entry for cruise ship traffic.
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association released the results of a study by New Jersey-based Business Research & Economic Advisors.
The Caribbean and Latin America 2023-2024 cruise season generated record tourism expenditures of $4.27 billion, with Puerto Rico cruise tourism producing $201.9 million in direct spending, according to a new study.
Overall 2024 expenditures are 27% higher than the previous record set in 2018.
The study, prepared for the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) by New Jersey-based Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA), also showed that cruise tourism created more than 94,000 jobs, up 19% from 2018, which paid more than $1.27 billion in wages across 33 destinations.
The destinations welcomed 29.4 million onshore visits from cruise passengers, with an average spend of $104.36, generating a total of $3.07 billion. Destinations also welcomed 3.9 million onshore visits from crew, with an average spend of $58.78, generating a total of $229.5 million. Cruise lines spent $968.3 million, an average of $29.3 million per destination.
The Bahamas recorded the most expenditures with $654.8 million, followed by Cozumel, Mexico ($483.1 million), the U.S. Virgin Islands ($258.1 million), and the Dominican Republic ($251.4 million), FCCA reported.
Average per passenger spending increased for 26 of the 31 common destinations, and 14 destinations recorded average spend rates above $100 per passenger, up from 12 in 2018. On average, a single transit cruise call with 4,000 passengers and 1,640 crew generates $369,100 in passenger and crew spending alone — $339,800 and $29,300, respectively.
The study, released at the 30th annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show in St. Maarten, examined how much money is spent directly using surveys from passengers and crew, spending by cruise lines on services and supplies, and port revenues and jobs created by cruise ship visits.
It gathered data from local government agencies, regional development groups and international economic organizations.
Its measure of cruise tourism expenditures did not include indirect benefits of cruise tourism, such as supplies purchased by tour operators, restaurants and port authorities, though the estimates of these expenditures served as the basis for total employment and wage impacts.
“We could not be prouder of these results and what they mean for the lives and livelihoods of so many throughout the Caribbean and Latin America,” Michele Paige, CEO of FCCA, said in a statement.
“In addition to showing what cruise tourism brings to these destinations’ economies, many of the study’s findings will also serve as the foundation of building further mutual success between cruise lines and destination stakeholders,” she added.
G. Torres is a freelance journalist, writer and editor. She’s worked in business journalism for more than 25 years, including posts as a reporter and copy editor at Caribbean Business, business editor at the San Juan Star and oil markets editor at S&P Global Platts (previously a McGraw Hill company). She’s also worked in marketing on and off for decades, now freelancing for local marketing and communications agencies.
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