The Bridgetown Port in Barbados put up big numbers in 2017, according to a prepared statement, recording 818,752 cruise arrivals over the previous year’s 725,020, for a total increase of 12.9%.

Of these 818,752 cruise arrivals, some 137,541 passengers stayed over in Barbados, above 2016’s total of 130,924.

“I am delighted by this news and what it says about Barbados’ tourism product,” said the Honourable Richard Sealy, Minister of Tourism and International Transport. “It is never easy as a mature tourism destination to maintain growth at these levels in the competitive business landscape in which we operate, but I am pleased that through strategic marketing efforts we have once again proven Barbados’ value as shown by the record number of arrivals at both the air and sea ports throughout 2017.”

The United Kingdom was once again the top producer of arrivals to Barbados with a 33.5% market share.

Arrivals from this market were flat compared to 2016, totaling 222,322. The United States followed, contributing 28.4% of business with 188,970 arrivals for the year. Canada contributed 12.8% of the business, and recorded an increase of 7.9% or 85,209 arrivals.

Of special note is the United States, who, while being the second-highest producer of business, grew by 11.7% over 2016. The United States’ 2017 performance was the highest for that market in three decades – since contributing 175,093 arrivals in 1987.