BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MARCH 19TH 2014 (CUOPM) – St Kitts and Nevis topped 100,000 visitors through the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in 2013, according to new data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
Caribbean Journal is reporting that the twin-island Federation recorded a total of 100,997 stopover visitors in 2013, which represented an increase of 3.2 percent over the previous year.
The growth was buoyed by a strong winter season last year, with an 8.1 percent increase in stopover traffic.
The country’s growth was driven by a 7.6 percent improvement from the European market, along with a 3.9 percent increase in arrivals from the United States.
Visits from Canada fell by 0.5 percent, while arrivals from other regions were flat, according to the CTO data.
Caribbean Journal said the data did not include arrivals to the Vance W Amory International Airport in Nevis.
The Communications Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister (CUOPM) recently reported that double digit increases in passenger arrivals and departures and aircraft movement at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in St. Kitts for the month of December of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.
Figures from the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority’s Department of Finance & Statistics indicate that 13,205 passengers arrived in December 2013 compared to 10,322 passengers, an increase of 2,883 passengers, up 28 percent.
The department also reporting an 11 percent increase in departures, with 12,072 passengers leaving in December last year compared to 10, 916 passengers in December of 2012.
SCASPA also reported a 16 percent increase in flights arriving and a 15 percent in flights departing the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.
US Airways, which added a second weekly flight into St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in March this year, is one of three American carriers that operate schedule service to St. Kitts. The others two are Delta Air and American Airlines.
There are now 14 scheduled weekly flights into St. Kitts from the United States.
American Airlines operates 11 from New York’s JFK and Miami International and Delta operates a weekly service from Atlanta.
Other international carriers that operate scheduled service to St. Kitts are Air Canada out of Toronto and British Airways from Gatwick-London.
Others include LIAT, WINAIR and Seaborne Airlines along with smaller commuter airlines like Trans Anguilla.
Miami Air also operates charters into St. Kitts.