PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – The Florida-Caribbean Association (FCCA), which advocates for the shared interests of the cruise sector along with Caribbean and Latin American destinations and stakeholders, proudly reports that the 2023-2024 cruise season has generated unprecedented economic benefits for the area.
A study released today by Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA) shows that cruise tourism had a big impact. It generated $4.27 billion in direct spending. This amount is about 27 percent higher than the record set in 2018. The study also found that cruise tourism created over 94,000 jobs. These jobs paid more than $1.27 billion in wages across the 33 destinations involved.
Michele M. Paige, Chief Executive Officer
“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,” said Michele Paige, CEO, FCCA. “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.”
The study looked at how much money is spent directly. It used surveys from passengers and crew. It also considered spending by cruise lines on services and supplies. Additionally, it measured port revenues and jobs created by cruise ship visits.
We measured economic impacts by gathering data from local government agencies, regional development groups, and international economic organizations. This helped us evaluate effects on jobs, wages, port fees, and taxes.
Cruise Tourism Expenditures Key findings
Cruise tourism generated $4.27 billion in expenditures, up 27% compared to the last study in 2018 and the previous record.
94,027 jobs were supported by the industry, up 19% compared to the last study, paying a total employee wage income of $1.27 billion.
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 33.3 million passenger and crew visits represent a 13% increase compared to the previous study, and the 31 common destinations in the 2018 and 2024 studies experienced a 17% increase in passenger visits.
Average per passenger spend 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.
Indirect Benefits of Cruise Tourism
The study’s measure of cruise tourism expenditures did not include indirect benefits of cruise tourism, including 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.
The study did not consider other indirect benefits. For example, it did not include spending from cruise passengers who return as stay-over guests. It also did not measure other ways cruise lines spend money that help destinations, like NGO partnerships and marketing.
The study – which is engaged by the FCCA in partnership with its destination partners as one of many ways to foster the understanding of cruise tourism, its benefits and how to best actualize its potential – was released at the 30th annual FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show in St. Maarten, further adding to the event’s focus on maximizing mutual success for all throughout cruise tourism through a series of meetings, workshops and networking opportunities between destination stakeholders and cruise executives to offer insight and develop business and relationships.
The full study; its Volume II focusing on both the specific spending within the destinations, along with metrics including passenger satisfaction, time spent ashore and types of shore excursions; and similar studies dating back to 2001 are available at www.F-CCA.com/Research.
33 Participating Destinations with Total Cruise Tourism Expenditures (in $US Millions)
Antigua & Barbuda ($89.0); Aruba ($133.2); The Bahamas ($654.8); Barbados ($83.5); Belize ($88.6); Bonaire ($33.4); British Virgin Islands ($85.7); Cayman Islands ($161.5); Colombia ($49.9); Costa Maya, Mexico ($187.9); Costa Rica ($32.2); Cozumel, Mexico ($483.1); Curaçao($93.3); Dominica ($20.9), Dominican Republic ($251.4); Ensenada, Mexico ($74.9); Grenada ($22.4); Guadeloupe ($46.1); Honduras ($180.4); Jamaica ($197.8); Key West ($55.4); Martinique ($42.2); Mazatlán, Mexico ($34.1); Panama ($114.0); Progreso, Mexico ($25.8); Puerto Rico ($201.9); St. Kitts & Nevis ($113.1); St. Lucia ($72.7); St. Maarten ($237.8); St. Vincent ($19.3); Trinidad ($5.4); Turks and Caicos ($116.1); and the United States Virgin Islands ($258.1).
