Antigua and Barbuda celebrates a significant milestone in the Tourism sector

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During the first half of the year, the twin-island nation welcomed an impressive 176,665 stop-over visitors, marking a 15% increase compared to the same period last year.

Minister of Tourism, Max Fernandez, shared the news during a press conference at the Tourism Authority headquarters on Monday.

He attributed the significant increase in arrivals to the industry’s resilience and the dedication of tourism officials.

Despite potential challenges such as hurricanes and shifts in the political climate of key source markets like the United States and the United Kingdom following a change in government, Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism industry continues to thrive.                                            

 “Stopover visitor arrivals increased from January to June 2024, from 154,333 in January to June 2023 to 176,655 in January to June 2024, when comparing the same period in 2019, which was our best year this represents a +10% increase from161,434 at the end of June of that year. We are well on the way to a record year for Tourism arrivals.”

From June 9 to 23, Antigua and Barbuda hosted eight games in the T20 World Cricket Cup tournament which attracted spectators from Europe, United States, India, Australia, and South Africa with remarkable percentage increases.

 “This is important because sports tourism, one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry, is an integral component of our tourism offerings, including yachting and sailing. In 2023, the Sports Tourism market’s size was US$564 billion, and it is expected to grow to US$1.33 trillion between 2024 and 2032. Hence, our hosting of the T20 Cricket Tournament represents a small but significant investment in this platform.”

Fernandez says, the hosting of the SIDS UN conference in May opened up other opportunities with the OAS conference slated to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in June of 2025.

He says June was the highest month ever recorded with an impressive 42% increase in stopover visitors. 

“In June, we enjoyed the highest-ever month-over-month growth with an impressive 42% increase in stopover visitors. The performance of visitor arrivals from our most important source market, the United States, is truly remarkable, showing a 46% increase compared to June 2023, from 11,032 to 16,084 in June 2024, United Kingdom and Europe. The United Kingdom also excelled, with a 15% increase in visitor arrivals compared to June 2023, from 3,567 in June 2023 to 4,092 in June 2024.”

In the cruise sector, cruise lines’ performances were spectacular, with cruise arrivals from January to June 2024 showing an astounding 30% increase compared to January to June 2023.

Flights from Canada are expected to resume in November, while within the Caribbean region, airlift began to pick-up with increased service from Caribbean Airlines and other carriers.  

The destination’s July-September numbers surpassed air arrivals in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, which had been the best year for tourism in the history of the country. 

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