Grenada tourism officials target sustained visitor growth

While Grenada’s 2019 tourism season represented a cooling of the double-digit land and sea arrivals growth the destination recorded the previous year, Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) officials say the southern Caribbean archipelago is positioned to achieve continued growth in 2020.

Overall, Grenada recorded 525,453 overnight visitors in 2019 said GTA officials, a 4.1 percent increase over the 503,796 land-based and cruise-ship guests who visited the country in 2018. Conversely, Grenada’s overnight arrivals increased 10 percent between 2018 and 2017, while cruise visitors increased by 14.5 percent during the same period.

Last year, Grenada’s overnight, land-based visitor arrivals grew by a scant one percent, totaling 162,902 travelers, up from 160,970 arrivals in 2018. That followed a 10 percent increase in land-based visitors between 2018 and 2017. GTA officials said last year’s overnight arrivals were impacted by the May closure of the Rex Grenadian, one of the country’s largest hotels.

Grenada’s cruise-ship visitors declined slightly in 2019 to 337,940 vacationers, following 2018’s 15 percent surge to 342,826 cruise ship visitors. GTA officials say “plans are in place” for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to increase visits from 19 cruise calls in 2019 to 29 calls in 2020 via its Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International brands. Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Fascination will also make 12 new visits to Grenada through 2021, officials say.

Patricia Maher, GTA’s chief executive officer, called Grenada’s 2020 tourism prospects “excellent,” saying the destination’s recent visitor growth is “a result of our hard work in lobbying airlines for more flights and the engagement of top cruise brand executives for more ship calls.”

Maher said Grenada’s 2020 visitor arrivals growth will be driven by increased air capacity, as American Airlines recently launched direct service to Grenada from Charlotte’s Douglas International Airport.

In addition, new hotels are opening across the destination. The Royalton Grenada hotel will become Grenada’s largest hotel with 269 rooms upon its March 2020 launch, just behind Sandals Grenada with 257 rooms and Radisson Grenada Beach Hotel with 227 rooms.

A 220-room Kimpton Kawana Bay hotel is currently under construction on Grand Anse Beach; 100 rooms are scheduled to be available by December 2020. A 100-room Six Senses Hotel is scheduled to open in 2022 as part of the La Sagesse development in St. David’s parish. The $125 million luxury resort Silversands Grenada opened last year.