Welcome note from Prime Minister Gaston Browne

Beginning in 1952, my small Caribbean island country, an exporter of sugarcane at that time, began experimenting with tourism. At first, the emphasis was exclusively on attracting passengers arriving by air since a massive runway had been constructed during the Second World War. Then, converted to civilian use during peacetime, airlines began flying visitors to our shores during the winter months, where they spent a week or more in the luxury hotels and clubs that found root on our many white-sand beaches.

Cruise tourism became a feature following the construction of the deepwater harbour in 1968. For the first time in 350 years of our modern history, large vessels could disembark their passengers and cargo at a newly constructed seaport. The possibilities for a future cruise tourism sector multiplied exponentially. Twenty years later, in 1988, the dredging to thirty feet of the shallow half-moon bay that touched St John’s, the capital, allowed the massive cruise vessels to dock at the edge of the town, further inland.

Cruise tourism is an important part of the tourism product which Antigua offers. Those who have experienced our charming Caribbean island become hooked on it and find themselves returning again and again.

Four berths were built in the following decade. However, the ships became even larger, requiring greater ocean depth. At a cost of tens of millions of dollars, the harbour has been increased in depth and width to accommodate the new present-day giant vessels.

In 2019, the year before the pandemic halted cruises, more than half a million passengers visited Antigua by cruise ship. By the end of February 2023, cruises are back in swing, with 100 vessels and 350,000 passengers having called at our port.

Antigua has also become a homeporting destination, allowing passengers to arrive by air and then be transported to the Antigua Cruise Port 15 minutes away. They begin a ten-day cruise before returning to the island and then back to their country of origin by air. Scores of those passengers also choose to arrive in Antigua early and spend a few nights at one of the luxury hotels, benefiting both sectors.

Cruise tourism is an important part of the tourism product which Antigua offers. Those who have experienced our charming Caribbean island become hooked on it and find themselves returning again and again. Welcome to enchanting Antigua, where the beach is just the beginning.

Honourable Gaston Browne Prime Minister