Saint Lucia’s Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG) hosted six matches in the ICC Men’s Two World Cup, and the venue came in for plaudits from organisers, commentators, players, and fans. Hon. Ernest Hilaire, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information, told reporters this week that the competition yielded a tourism bonanza for Saint Lucia.
Hilaire noted that June is historically a month with low visitor arrivals to the island. But the combination of the global cricket showpiece and increased airlift over the past 12 months combined for a significant uptick in the number of tourists touching down on local shores.
“In June, we saw a 42% increase in arrivals for the month,” disclosed Hilaire. “All the four main markets recorded increases, led by the US with a 55% month-on-month increase. Of course, we had an increase in seats over last June. The American Airlines second daily service from Miami, JetBlue’s second daily service from New York, and American Airlines upgraded its frequency from Charlotte.
“The Caribbean grew by 24% over June last year. We had more flights from Inter Caribbean as well as Caribbean Airlines. The non-traditional markets, grouped as Rest of the World, recorded a 327% increase. And of course, a lot of that came from persons who came for cricket. The international teams and spectators – we had spectators from India, South Africa, Afghanistan, Australia, and Sri Lanka.
Hilaire, formerly CEO of Cricket West Indies, revealed that June was the fourth consecutive month of record-breaking arrivals, and the fifth month for the year. Year to date, he divulged, the island is 15% ahead of arrivals recorded for the first half of 2023.
“So we are 15% ahead of last year and 6% ahead of 2019, and you know 2019 was our best year on record,” stressed Hilaire. “So we are already, up to June, 6% ahead of 2019, and 15% ahead of where we were last year. So I mean, it’s fantastic news for us. And it showed the impact that cricket had on our arrivals during the month of June.”
Hilaire threw cold water on the notion that ticket sales were lacklustre for games in Saint Lucia. He emphasized that the official data would vindicate his position, going on to declare that issues local and visiting fans may have experienced in terms of access to tickets, ticket prices, and travel were out of Government’s hands.
“Things like the ticket prices and all those things are beyond us,” he maintained. “And you have to understand how the system works. When tickets go on sale, persons buy tickets, they’re not knowing if their team… especially second round, they don’t know who’s qualifying to go to the next round. So I anticipate my team, I buy a ticket, but my team doesn’t make it or I can’t get a flight to come to the country. But I have the ticket, I have the seats. So sometimes you see empty seats and you say nobody turned up for the game, but all the seats are sold, just that some people could not could not get the flight to come.”
Ernest cited the marquee matchup between India and Australia, the top two teams in the T20I format, which he said was sold out, notwithstanding the fact that there appeared to be seats available at the DSCG. He contended that the West Indies’ unique situation as an archipelago brings with it special challenges.
“In other countries, with many multiple ways of moving around you can take a train to the venue, you can fly, you can take bus. We are islands. You have to get a flight or take a boat
to come in, so sometimes that is what happens. Airline ticket prices, let me tell you, those are way beyond us. There’s a demand for the destination, and as long as people are buying tickets, prices will go up… We need more flights, but to get more flights, you need more rooms.”
The T20 World Cup was co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA. India won the finale over South Africa at historic Kensington Oval in Barbados.
