Tourism Continues to rebound

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank says the recovery of the tourism sector in Montserrat has helped helped in mitigating the downturn in overall economic activity for the first half of 2022.

Based on data for the first half of the year, total visitor arrivals almost tripled to 1,511 compared with 525 in 2021.

However,this is well below the five-year (2017 to 2021) average of 8,787.

Stay over arrivals dominated the landscape, increasing to 1,469 from 522 in the previous year.

Additionally,the number of excursionists rose to 36 from 3 in 2021.

Director of Tourism Rosetta West Gerald told ZJB News that the Tourism Division has plans to improve tourism sites and to market Montserrat as a unique tourist destination.

Tourist arrivals are expected to be boosted further by the visits of a number of cruise ships during the 2022-2023cruise ship season sea conditions permitting.

Montserrat’s economy is estimated to have contracted during the first six months of 2022,compared with the same period one year earlier.

Reduced activity in the construction sector and its impact on associated industries was the primary driver of this outcome.

In the case of the public sector, capital expenditure is estimated to have declined to $3.8m from $10.9m one year earlier, while in the private sector, the value of construction starts fell from $15.0m to $4.7m.