St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has taken a major step toward transforming its cruise tourism sector after the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Global Ports Holding (GPH), the world’s largest independent cruise port operator, to launch a 30-year concession for the redevelopment of the Kingstown Cruise Terminal. The deal paves the way for up to EC$250 million in infrastructure investment, unlocking what GPH leadership calls massive untapped potential in the Caribbean island nation.
The agreement was formalized in Kingstown on Wednesday by SVG Prime Minister Godwin Friday and GPH Chairman Mehmet Kutman. With a global footprint that includes leading cruise ports in high-traffic destinations such as Puerto Rico and Nassau, Bahamas, GPH brings decades of experience expanding cruise sector growth for emerging Caribbean economies.
Kutman argued that SVG remains significantly under-marketed as a cruise destination, a gap he attributes to underdeveloped existing infrastructure and limited industry brand recognition that has suppressed potential demand. He noted that while SVG’s natural appeal as a tourist location is already established, the current lack of supporting infrastructure and targeted marketing has prevented the destination from reaching its full potential in the global cruise market.
To address this gap, GPH plans to leverage its long-standing industry relationships with major cruise lines, global marketing reach, and infrastructure investment capital to position SVG as a top Caribbean stop. Kutman projected that once infrastructure upgrades are completed, annual cruise passenger traffic to SVG could triple within five to seven years.
GPH’s track record in the region backs up this optimistic projection. In The Bahamas, for example, when GPH took over port operations in 2019, annual passenger volume hovered between 2 million and 3 million. This year, the country is on track to welcome 6.7 million cruise passengers, with numbers set to climb to 8 million next year, cementing The Bahamas’ position as the world’s largest transit cruise port. Per-passenger spending has also surged: when GPH acquired the Nassau concession, average visitor spending stood at $56 per person. Today, that figure has reached $128 per passenger, the highest in the Caribbean, with a long-term target of $150 to $200 per person.
Currently, SVG faces similar challenges to those The Bahamas overcame. SVG Tourism Minister Camillo Gomes (quoted alongside GPH leadership in the announcement) noted that SVG currently records one of the lowest per-passenger spending rates among Eastern Caribbean cruise destinations, averaging under 300,000 passengers annually and just $59 in per-person spending. He attributed low spending to an underdeveloped on-land product, adding that the partnership with GPH will prioritize improving shore excursions and local visitor activities to encourage longer stays and higher spending that directly benefits SVG communities.
A core principle of GPH’s plan for SVG is its “community-first” operating philosophy, which emphasizes hiring local staff and partnering with local small businesses rather than bringing in outside workers or external operators. Kutman stressed that GPH does not intend to take over local commercial operations; instead, the company will provide training, access to financing, and operational support to help local businesses grow alongside the expanding port. He added that GPH never imports workers to manage or run port operations, emphasizing that all roles at every level will be filled by local SVG residents, and that community satisfaction is the company’s top priority.
Prime Minister Friday echoed this commitment, noting that a recent visit to GPH’s Nassau operations during a Caribbean Development Bank meeting confirmed that the community-first model works in practice. “Everybody we dealt with, from the very top to all the middle-level people, they were Bahamians, and they were very proud to tell us that they are born and bred Bahamians,” Friday said. He added that many of the commercial spaces at the Nassau port were designed as small, affordable units for local small business owners to sell local products, proving GPH prioritizes creating opportunities for local operators rather than large corporate tenants.
In discussions about improving SVG’s investment climate, Friday said the government is focused on streamlining unnecessary bureaucratic red tape while upholding the rule of law and full transparency. He noted that cruise tourism is a competitive industry, with destinations around the Caribbean vying for cruise line partnerships, making an investor-friendly climate a key competitive advantage. “When we talk about making the destination investor-friendly, it’s to make it so that we eliminate unnecessary red tape… and that we are a country of the rule of law… everything is transparent and above board,” Friday said. He added that his core mandate throughout negotiations was protecting SVG’s national interest and securing the maximum possible benefit for the country and its people, a goal the government pursued openly throughout the process.
Kutman acknowledged that while SVG is overall an investor-friendly destination, the negotiations for the Kingstown concession were among the most rigorous GPH has ever conducted, a testament to the SVG government’s commitment to protecting national interests.