Has the number of cruise passengers visiting Bonaire increased?
A total of 359,000 cruise passengersnoot1 visited Bonaire in 2024. That was 128 percent more than in 2012. After the sharp decline during the coronavirus pandemic, the number of cruise passengers has risen sharply, but remained below the peak seen in 2019.
Following a fairly stable growth until 2015, the number of passengers rose significantly from 2016 onwards. In 2019, a record number of nearly 458,000 cruise tourists visited Bonaire. During the coronavirus pandemic, the number fell sharply, but cruise tourism recovered quickly after that. A total of 285,000 cruise passengers arrived on the island in 2022, and in 2023, that number rose to 392,000.
In 2022, a policy was introduced to allow a maximum of one large cruise ship per day, as part of the Tourism Recovery Plan. The almost complete implementation of this one ship policy followed in April 2023. In addition to one large ship, small ships carrying fewer than 700 passengers are still allowed to dock, as a second ship.
| Year | Cruise passengers |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 157.5 |
| 2013 | 142.0 |
| 2014 | 156.6 |
| 2015 | 230.2 |
| 2016 | 207.2 |
| 2017 | 406.3 |
| 2018 | 397.2 |
| 2019 | 457.8 |
| 2020 | 176.1 |
| 2021 | 56.7 |
| 2022* | 285.4 |
| 2023* | 392.1 |
| 2024* | 358.5 |
| * Provisional figures | |
Decline in 2024
In line with the introduction of the one ship policy, the number of cruise passenger in 2024 was 9 percent lower than in the previous year. Although the post-pandemic trend is positive, a full recovery has not been achieved yet.
In the first half of 2025, approximately 222,000 cruise passengers arrived, up by 16 percent on the first half of 2024.
Most cruise passengers in first quarter
The first quarter is always the busiest: a total of 129,000 cruise passengers arrived between January and March 2024. The fourth quarter is also popular, especially November and December. The summer and autumn months remain relatively quiet, with 52,000 passengers in the third quarter of 2024, for example. There has been a consistency in seasonal patterns since 2012.
| Quarter | 2012 | 2013 | 2023* | 2024* | 2025* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 86.8 | 78.0 | 194.2 | 129.1 | 154.6 |
| Q2 | 21.3 | 14.8 | 70.0 | 62.5 | 67.2 |
| Q3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 23.6 | 52.2 | . |
| Q4 | 48.8 | 48.4 | 104.3 | 114.7 | . |
| * Provisional figures | |||||
Source
More data on cruise passengers
Relevant links
Public Entity Bonaire – Tourism Recovery Plan
Public Entity Bonaire – More spreading of the number of cruise ships with the one ship policy
Noten
Cruise passengers
Passengers (including crew) who arrived on Bonaire by cruise ship. The definitions of cruise passenger and cruise tourism are as follows:
Cruise passenger:
A cruise passenger is a visitor (tourist) who spends part or all of their trip on a cruise ship (see definition of cruise tourism).
Cruise tourism:
Cruise tourism is a form of tourism (people who travel to and stay in places outside where they usually spend time) in which people spend at least one night on a ship for the purpose of leisure during (part of) their journey.
This ship calls at a minimum of three or more ports during the entire voyage according to a fixed schedule. If the ship only sails back and forth between two ports, it is referred to as a ferry. The cruise can take place both at sea and on inland waterways.