ST LUCIA: Tourism Growth Slows in St Lucia

After a very strong year in 2014, the pace of tourism growth in St Lucia has slowed so far in 2015.

Last year, the island reported a 6 percent growth in stayover tourist arrivals compared to the previous year.

So far in 2015, however, growth has slowed to 2.6 percent, according to the most recent data from the country’s tourist board.

From January to November, the island reported 312,761 stayover tourist arrivals, up slightly from 304,748 in the first 11 months of 2014.

The slowed pace of growth is in large part due to a 7.8 percent drop in tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom, with 62,293 through November, down from 67,574 last year.

The US remains the island’s strongest market and has posted very solid growth, however, with a 7 percent increase over the first 11 months of 2014.

The country has also seen success with its push to attract Caribbean visitors, reporting a 14 percent growth rate in intra-Caribbean tourism, the largest increase of any source market for the island.