The St Kitts and Nevis Government announced the completion of St Kitts Island's new cruise pier at Port Zante. With the opening of the second pier of the port, Port Zante can now simultaneously berth up to 3 of world's largest passenger ships.
With a resident population of 55,000, the small Caribbean country is successfully competing with many larger Caribbean cruise port destinations. It is a prudent expansion, considering the islands have welcomed 1 million passengers during each of the past 2 seasons which is a milestone visitor volume.
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, which met with officials in St Kitts and Nevis last week to discuss further development of the cruise sector, believes that the islands will soon become the Caribbean destination where cruisers choose to spend the most money. According to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association’s president, Michele Paige, the organization estimated that could become a reality with the next 3 years.
The USD 48 million cruise port expansion project was financed via local sources, with USD 5 million coming from the Citizenship by Investment Program of the country, which has proven successful in raising foreign direct investment.