Montserrat last year

recorded its highest visitor arrivals since the Soufriere Hills Volcano erupted

on the British Overseas Territory in 1995.

Figures released by the

Montserrat Tourism Division, (MTD), show that visitor arrivals to the island in

2019 stood at 20,956 an increase of 14 per cent over the previous year and

“signalling the first time since the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano in

1995 that the number has crossed 20,000”.

The MTD said a 59 per cent

increase in cruise visits was largely responsible for the overall growth and

this was complemented by a two per cent increase in stayover arrivals.

It said that visitors from

the Caribbean region led the way, accounting for 19 per cent of total stayover

visits, followed by the United Kingdom (13.4 per cent) and the United States

(12.6 per cent).

“We’re thrilled that we’ve

been able to surpass the threshold of 20,000 visitors. It tells us that we’re

on the right track with our marketing initiatives and that if we are able to be

consistent in our delivery, we could continue the growth trend,” said the

Director of Tourism, Warren Solomon.

The figures released by

the MTD show that there had also been a one per cent growth in visitor spend,

amounting to EC$27 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents).