Why Saint Lucia Keeps Winning The World’s Top Honeymoon Title

Key Points

• Saint Lucia has been named the world’s leading honeymoon destination for eight years in a row, beating far bigger rivals.
• Romance travel is now a core growth engine for the island’s private tourism industry and for thousands of local jobs.
• The strategy relies on investment, competition and service quality rather than grand state projects or ideological tourism experiments.

Saint Lucia just did something few small countries ever manage: it beat Paris, Maui, Mauritius and the Seychelles yet again to be named World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination at the 2025 World Travel Awards, held in Bahrain on 6 December.

It is the island’s eighth consecutive global win and comes on top of regional awards for best Caribbean honeymoon destination and fresh Gold Travvy trophies for Best Honeymoon Destination and Best Wedding Destination, plus a Silver as Best Destination in the Caribbean.

US News & World Report also ranks it the world’s top honeymoon spot. The appeal is easy to understand. The iconic Pitons, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rise steeply from the sea, framed by rainforest, waterfalls and geothermal springs such as Sulphur Springs, where couples cover themselves in warm mineral mud.

Luxury resorts like Jade Mountain, Sugar Beach, Ladera and Serenity at Coconut Bay have built directly into this landscape, with open-air suites, private pools and uninterrupted views. Many rooms have only three walls, so the fourth side is the ocean and mountains.

Private Investment Fuels Growth

Behind the romance imagery sits a serious economic story. Tourism supplies most of Saint Lucia’s GDP, and honeymooners are among its highest-spending visitors, buying private excursions, spa treatments and tailor-made wedding packages.

In 2024 the island welcomed more than 435,000 stay-over visitors, with cruise and yachting arrivals also rising strongly. This success did not come from central planners drawing up five-year tourism blueprints.

It has grown from years of private investment, competition between resorts and a clear focus on service and safety.

Government campaigns such as “Romance Capital of the Caribbean” and the appointment of Olympic sprint champion Julien Alfred as tourism ambassador help to tell that story, but it is entrepreneurs and workers who ultimately keep couples coming back.

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