Tourism Minister Kishore Shallow says St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) will sign an agreement with Global Ports Holding (GPH) on Monday, as the government moves to expand cruise operations and increase the benefits the sector brings to local businesses and residents.
In July, the government of SVG signed a memorandum of understanding with GPH, the world’s largest cruise port operator, paving the way for a 30-year concession and up to EC$250 million in phased investment to modernise the Kingstown Cruise Terminal and expand cruise tourism across the country.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Shallow described the signing as a milestone in the development of the country’s cruise sector.
He said the partnership is intended not only to accommodate growth in cruise tourism, but also to ensure more of the industry’s economic value reaches Vincentians, including taxi and tour operators, vendors, restaurants and retailers.
Shallow said the government’s assessment of the sector, including discussions with cruise lines and industry representatives, had highlighted a challenge: ships are getting larger, while existing infrastructure cannot accommodate some of them.
He said SVG is currently unable to host XL-class vessels and that larger ships operated by companies such as Britannia and Carnival have also presented difficulties.
As an interim measure, Shallow said a Carnival cruise line would be hosted at the Modern Port in Kingstown because the existing cruise-ship port could not accommodate it.
He said the government planned a fun fair and a “Carnival for Carnival” jump-up to mark the visit.
The minister cited rising cruise-ship calls and passenger numbers as a reason to prepare for further growth.
He reported 231 calls and 247,000 passengers for the 2024–25 season, followed by 246 calls and 239,000 passengers in 2025–26.
For 2026–27, he said the country was projected to receive 355 calls and 344,000 passengers — an estimated increase of 105,000 passengers or 43% over the previous season.
He outlined four ministry priorities: the Love SVG initiative, product development, rebranding and a “cruise shipboard transition”.
The minister said the rebrand would include a new logo to be displayed at the upcoming Independence Parade, while product development would focus on offering visitors an authentic Vincentian experience.
Shallow pointed to ports in the Bahamas and San Juan, Puerto Rico, that are managed by GPH and have been transformed through the company’s investment.
He said the government hoped to see similar development in SVG even as he acknowledged the country’s financial constraints and the need to compete with other Caribbean destinations for cruise business.
The minister said stakeholders had provided feedback during the process and described the agreement as the result of extensive legal, technical, commercial and policy work.
He thanked the Attorney General and her chambers for their role in that work, adding that Prime Minister Godwin Friday would provide further details in due course.