The Caribbean will always be the top cruise destination in the world, according to various cruise industry leaders.

During the recent Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association convention in San Juan, their forecast for the future looks bright, with expectations that there could be as many as 45 million people cruising by 2030, which would represent a 50 percent increase from the current 30 million.

Its thriving and the outlook for the region is robust, said Royal Caribbean Cruises Vice Chairman Adam Goldstein, noting that it was imperative for the Caribbean cruise industry to remain competitive with new ships and provide enhanced offerings, such as new experiences.

As previously reported by THE WEEKLY JOURNAL, visitors today want more experiences, and Bayley highlighted the success of the Perfect Day at CocoCay, which is Royal Caribbeans $250 million private island in the Bahamas. The popular cruise stop features a waterpark with a water slide that is reportedly the tallest in the region, a massive wave pool and on-the-water beach cabaas.

Echoing these words was Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbeans president and CEO, who sees continuing growth in the Caribbeansaying that eight out of the top-10 cruise destinations worldwide are in the Caribbeanand that more cruise passengers will be coming to the Caribbean in the future. The Caribbean was, is, will always be, the number one cruise destination in the world We need to find a way to accommodate the growth that is inevitably coming to cruise tourism in the Caribbean, he indicated.

In the Caribbean, Old San Juan is a perennial cruise stop favorite, as are Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas, Philipsburg in St. Maarten and Nassau in the Bahamas.

Puerto Rico continues to strengthen its position as a leader in the cruise industry. Last fiscal year [2018-2019], a record figure of more than 1.8 million passengers and 558 boat visits were established, for an economic impact of more than $217 million. This 2019 calendar year, we are headed to break the record of passenger arrivals with over 1.7 million cruise passengers enjoying our beautiful island. Being hosts of this important event, we reaffirm our leadership in the region and seek business opportunities to continue growing this sector strategically for Puerto Rico, said Puerto Rico Tourism Company Executive Director Carla Campos.

According to Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel Laboy, during the convention, government officials coordinated 26 business meetings between 10 Puerto Rican companies, to initiate those first conversations and for entrepreneurs to showcase their products in order to make business.

Last year, two local companies established talks with Royal Caribbean. As a result, that cruise line began to buy Tres Monjitas products, thanks to the effort of the agencys team. We trust that the exhibition of local products and services at the international level will be positively reflected in the development of manufacturing and an increase in exports. During fiscal year 2017-2018, the consumption of the cruise ships that used Puerto Rico as their base, was $28 million. We continue to maximize our efforts to increase this figure in favor of the economic development of the island, Laboy added.

The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and the Dominican Republic were also among neighboring destinations that lauded their offerings during the conclave. USVI Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said he was focused on balancing the cruise business between St. Thomas, which has been a long time favorite, and St. Croix, an emerging travel destination. On average, the USVI receives about 2 million cruise visitors every year.

The Dominican Republic, which receives millions of tourists through its inexpensive all inclusive offerings, welcomed more than 1.3 million cruise passengers last year.

Record of Cruise Visitors Broken Worldwide

Worldwide, another record was broken in 2018, with 28.2 million guests cruising globally a 5.6 percent increase compared to 2017s previous high of 26.7 million, according to the FCCAs 2019 Cruise Industry Overview and Statistics report. The associations projections are that the 30 million mark will be hit this year.

The Caribbean is by far the most popular region, with 34.4 percent (roughly 9.7 million) of the 28.2 million cruise passengers worldwide visiting this destination in 2018.

The second leading destination was the Mediterranean, with 17.3 percent, or nearly 4.9 million passengers. Europe without the Mediterranean, such as cruising the Baltic Sea, was the third most popular, with 11.1 percent, or just over 3.1 million.

Based on 2017 figures, most cruise passengers come from the United States (11.9 percent), followed by China (2.4 percent) and Germany 2.2 percent.

St. Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands >Courtesy

The Caribbean s Strong Numbers

The highlights of the FCCA report for the Caribbean included:

$3.36 billion in direct expenditures were generated by cruise tourism, up 6.3 percent compared to the last study in 2015 and the previous record.

78,954 jobs were attributable to the industry, up 5.2 percent compared to the last study, paying a total employee wage income of $902.7 million.

Destinations welcomed 25.2 million onshore visits from cruise passengers, with an average expenditure of $101.52, generating a total of $2.56 billion.

$534 million was generated by cruise line expenditures, including port fees and taxes, payments to local tour operators and payments to local businesses for supplies and services.

The highest expenditure per passenger was $165.42 in U.S. Virgin Islands, and the highest expenditure per crew member was $130.63 in Puerto Rico.

On average, a single transit cruise call with 4,000 passengers and 1,640 crew generates $378,500 in passenger and crew spending alone: $339,500 and $39,000, respectively.

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Cruise Fever Here to Stay | Business - The Weekly Journal