Grenada Celebrates Tourism Awareness Month with Historic Performance and Expanding Opportunities

As Tourism Awareness Month is observed worldwide this November, Grenada enters the month with a compelling record of tourism growth, marked by sustained increases in visitor arrivals, billion-dollar visitor spending and growing international recognition.

Since September 2022, the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) and its partners have advanced a tourism agenda that delivered 26 consecutive months of positive visitor growth, with monthly arrivals exceeding 20,000 for the first time in December 2023. That momentum continues. Stayover arrivals reached 140,602 between January and August 2026, up 9.9 per cent over the corresponding period in 2025. Visitor expenditure reached EC$1.047 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach EC$1.068 billion in 2026, while a strong 2025 cruise season brought nearly 370,000 passengers, an increase of 17.5 per cent.

International recognition has grown alongside that performance. Grenada received five honours at the 2026 PATWA International Travel Awards, including Destination of the Year, Caribbean Experiences, followed in October by Brand of the Year for Pure Grenada at the Black Travel Summit Victor Awards. Grenada has also been selected among National Geographic’s Best of the World destinations for 2027, building on recognition from The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler and USA Today.

Together, these achievements reflect a tourism industry growing in reach, value and visibility, supported by the quality of Grenada’s hospitality, culture and experiences.

Senator the Honourable Adrian Thomas, Minister for Tourism, Creative Economy and Culture, said, “Grenada’s tourism performance reflects the progress that can be achieved when air access, investment, product development, marketing and our people are advanced together. Tourism remains one of the country’s most important economic sectors and our focus is on sustaining this momentum while building an industry that is competitive, resilient and capable of creating lasting value across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The progress is significant, but the greater opportunity is in what we build from it.”

An expanding calendar of festivals and experiences is creating more reasons to visit and widening the economic reach of tourism. Spicemas 2026 attracted 11,299 arrivals during 2 to 11 August, 20 per cent above 2025 and approximately 42 per cent above 2024, generating activity across accommodation, transportation, entertainment and local commerce.

Diaspora Homecoming 2026 connected Grenadians overseas with investment, professional exchange and community engagement, while the new Lobster, Lambie & Seafood Festival places Carriacou and Petite Martinique’s culinary and maritime heritage more firmly within the visitor experience.

Grenada’s botanical heritage will also be showcased through the inaugural Grenada Flower & Garden Festival from 8 to 15 November. The event builds on the country’s international success at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where Grenada has earned 19 gold medals, including nine consecutive golds, while creating further opportunities for growers, gardeners, artisans and communities.

Growth in tourism is also creating greater emphasis on the people and businesses behind the industry. More than 2,000 people have received training through the Pure Grenada Excellence Champion programme, strengthening skills among business owners and frontline tourism workers across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Through Pure Experiences, the GTA is taking that focus further by bringing locally operated cultural, culinary, agricultural, marine and community experiences across all three islands into greater view. The objective is to enable more Grenadians to earn from what they grow, make, preserve and share while protecting the assets that sustain tourism.

Randall Dolland, Chairman of the Grenada Tourism Authority, said, “These achievements give Grenadians every reason to see tourism as an industry in which they can build a future. Our responsibility is to turn growing demand into wider participation for farmers and fisherfolk, artisans and entrepreneurs and communities throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. With billion-dollar visitor spending, rising stayover arrivals and growing global recognition, this is an exceptional time to invest, innovate and get involved in Grenada’s tourism industry.”

Tourism Awareness Month provides an opportunity to recognize both the scale of the industry’s progress and the possibilities ahead. Continued growth will depend on converting strong demand and international visibility into better experiences, stronger businesses, skilled people and greater economic participation, while safeguarding the natural and cultural assets that distinguish Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.