Festive: towards new attendance records?

The place to be. Simply put, the place to be. To feast and... to be seen. It's a status that sticks to the Saint-Barthélemy rock every year, but one that was particularly true at the end of 2024. At least after observing the relentless attendance figures, which had reached an all-time high.
On December 31, 2024, no fewer than 450 manned vessels had been counted in the port area by the harbour master's office. This "armada" included some one hundred mega-yachts. Air traffic was just as heavy.
By December 2024, airport management had counted 24,436 passengers. This represented an increase of 24% on December 2023, 8.6% on December 2022 and 25% on the last month of 2019, which remains a benchmark. The festive opening had been described as "surprising and explosive" by airport director Fabrice Danet. So, what's next for Festive 2025?
For the time being, as tourism professionals have been explaining since the start of the season, the trend is towards short stays. Visitors prefer to stay for four to five days, with a few exceptions. Needless to say, the "festive" season is a prime example of this preference. End-of-year "tourists" like to immerse themselves in the island's luxurious effervescence as the calendar twilight approaches. But they leave as quickly as they arrived.
By December 30, 2024, Gustavia's port management had recorded the arrival of 96 ships. By the morning of January 1, 110 declarations of departure had been notified, reaching a total of 143 by the end of the first day of the year. The same was true of the airport, with more than 300 aircraft movements daily during the first five days of 2025.
If attendance for the 2025 "festive" follows the upward curve of the three post-Covid-19 years, the next few days promise to be particularly hectic. As for traffic, mainly in Gustavia and despite the new shuttle service, it should prove to be... tricky.

(Illustration @ Marine Traffic)