Grenada Surpasses One Billion Per Year In Visitor Spending

(MENAFN- Caribbean News Global) ST GEORGE'S, Grenada – Grenada is projected to record a second consecutive year of visitor spending above XCD 1 billion in 2026, following visitor expenditure of XCD 1.047 billion in 2025. The 2025 milestone followed two consecutive years of growth, with visitor expenditure rising by 20.4 percent between 2023 and 2025.

The milestone comes as the IMF's October 2026 Regional Economic Outlook projects Grenada's economy to grow by 3.9 percent this year, the highest rate among the Caribbean economies it classifies as tourism dependent.

“This performance underscores tourism's importance to Grenada's national development,” said Adrian Thomas, minister for tourism, creative economy and culture.“Sustaining that progress requires careful stewardship of the cultural and natural assets that attract visitors, alongside investment in the people and infrastructure that support the industry. Our responsibility is to build a tourism sector that can sustain its success over time and contribute to the country's long-term prosperity.”

In 2025, stayover visitors accounted for XCD 984.9 million, up 5.14 percent on 2024, while cruise expenditure rose by 56.6 percent to EC$61.9 million over the same period.

Full 2026 projections indicate a further EC$20.9 million in visitor spending, taking the total to XCD 1.068 billion. Stayover spending alone is projected to exceed XCD 1 billion.

“Surpassing XCD 1 billion is an important milestone for Grenada and a powerful reason to be deliberate about the quality of our future growth,” said Randall Dolland, chairman of the Grenada Tourism Authority.“Our priority must be to deepen the connections between tourism and the wider economy, creating more opportunities for Grenadian businesses to supply the sector and for communities to participate in its success. The experiences that distinguish our destination, from our food and culture to our natural environment, should also provide a stronger foundation for local enterprise and livelihoods.”

“Maintaining this level of visitor expenditure requires a destination strategy that connects market demand with the depth and quality of the experience on the ground. Our competitiveness rests on giving visitors compelling reasons to choose Grenada, spend more time here and return. Looking towards 2027, our focus through Pure Experiences is to make community-based experiences a more visible and accessible part of that offering, encouraging visitors to explore more of our islands and directing greater economic opportunity towards local businesses,” said Kirl Grant-Hoschtialek, chief of operations and acting chief executive officer of the Grenada Tourism Authority.

More recent visitor activity also points to sustained demand, with arrivals during the 2–11 August 2026 Spicemas period rising by 20 percent compared with the same period in 2025.

The Grenada Tourism Authority's development strategy emphasises higher-value experiences, with culinary tourism, heritage and culture, wellness and nautical tourism among its priorities. In addition, the newly launched Pure Experiences programme supports this approach by connecting visitors with locally operated experiences, extending tourism's economic benefits to more businesses and communities across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

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