Tourist visitors hit new record high

Visitor arrivals by air and sea hit a record 3.3 million in 2012, up 7.4 per cent year-on-year, according to newly released tourism data. Arrivals in 2011 amounted to 3.07 million. Tourist visits also hit the three million mark in 2006. The bulk of last year’s increase came from cruise passenger growth, up 17 per cent, mainly due to the newest port in Trelawny, the Falmouth Cruise Pier, built over a year ago. Total visitors by sea amounted to 1.34 million.



Air passengers staying overnight or stopover arrivals increased marginally by 1.8 per cent to 1.98 million. Geographically, a rise in Canadian and US visitors balanced the decline in United Kingdom/Europe, down 16.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. Canada’s growth, however, waned a bit from its previous double-digit growth.

Tourist visitors hit new record high ht.ly/hMQVU