Port St. Maarten welcomed 1,597,101 cruise passengers on a total of 489 visits in 2018, reflecting the 29% increase in visitor arrivals compared to the previous year. The acclaimed port saw a 30.3% increase between May and July when cruise visits to the island are usually less.
The latter half of last year also brought about the recovery of pre-Irma cruise guests' arrival numbers. From September through December port St. Maarten welcomed a total of 646,431 passengers, indicating an increase of 17.87% in arrivals from the same period in 2016, a year before Hurricane Irma.
Image: Port of Philipsburg (St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles)
Despite the fact that 2017-2018 numbers year over year shows a positive progression for the port, 2017 was slower as it was not operational in October and November.