119 / 173
2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
______________________________________________________________________________
109
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
a number of other islands following the
passage of two major hurricanes in 2017. An
improvement was also recorded in the
yachting sub-sector as the number of yacht
passengers steadily grew by 10.7 per cent in
2018 to 56,826, relative to the increase of
6.4 per cent in the previous year. The sector
benefited from the opening of Glossy Bay
Marina in Canouan which has resulted in
additional berths and facilitated larger yachts.
Developments in the excursions sub-sector
however, partly mitigated the overall impact
of the sector. After a recovery in 2017, the
number of excursionists fell by 13.3 per cent
in 2018 to 1,287. Collectively, those sectoral
developments resulted in a 17.5 per cent
growth in total visitor arrivals to 356,069 in
2018, easing from a 35.8 per cent expansion
in the previous year.
In line with the improvements in the hotels and
restaurants sector, expansions were recorded
in many of the allied sectors. Key among them
was the wholesale and retail trade sector,
which also recovered in 2018. The sector,
which is the third largest in terms of its
contribution to GDP, is estimated to have
improved by 3.6 per cent, further evidenced
by an expansion in a number of import
categories.
The initial data also point to greater
momentum in the transport, storage and
communications sector for the review period.
With a contribution of 14.5 per cent to output,
activity in the sector grew by 6.2 per cent, up
from a more moderate expansion of
2.3 per cent in the preceding year. The
relatively robust activity in the sector was
supported by an acceleration in the cruise sub-
sector. The improvement in the sector was
also boosted by the pickup in activity in the
road transport sub-sector, which was
supported by taxi and tour operators as well as
by higher stay-over arrivals.
The manufacturing sector, which consists of
the grains, beverages and building materials
sub-sectors, maintained a favourable growth
trend in 2018. Value-added in the sector
advanced by 5.8 per cent, following growth of
3.2 per cent in the preceding year. Activity in
the sector improved, reflecting greater output
in the building material sub-sector in the first
half of 2018, as manufacturers benefitted from
increased external demand, largely driven by
reconstruction activity in the islands affected
by hurricanes Irma and Maria. This positive
development was accompanied by growth in
the production of beer (35.8 per cent) and
flour (27.5 per cent) in 2018. These
expansions were however mitigated by