
By Kisean Joseph
Antigua and Barbuda celebrated a record-breaking tourism year in 2024, with visitor arrivals surpassing 1.2 million, marking a 17 percent increase over 2023, Minister of Tourism Charles “Max” Fernandez announced at a press conference, yesterday.
“Tourism accounts for 70 percent of our GDP, and approximately 12,000 jobs or 34 percent of our employment is directly linked to tourism,” Fernandez said.
The twin-island destination achieved a 10 percent growth compared to its previous record year in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Fernandez underlined the country’s strategic positioning as an emerging Caribbean hub, noting new airline partnerships.
“We now have Liat back up in the air. We have Sunshine Airways looking to be headquartered in Antigua, advancing our goal of making Antigua-Barbuda a regional hub,” he added.
Meanwhile, Colin James, the CEO of the Tourism Authority detailed unprecedented airline service expansion across major markets. “For the first time ever, American Airlines had daily flights out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Delta launched daily flights out of Atlanta, United from New York, and JetBlue from JFK,” James said.
The destination saw particularly strong growth from the Caribbean market, with Trinidad emerging as the largest regional source market. The US remained the primary market overall, delivering 173,000 visitors in 2024, followed by the UK and Europe with 84,000 arrivals.
Looking ahead to 2025, the twin island nation aims to position itself as the Caribbean’s culinary capital. “We’ve set a target to make this destination the new culinary event capital of the Caribbean,” James said as he outlined plans for an expanded May culinary calendar featuring local and international cuisine and events.
The tourism outlook includes new developments, with Fernandez indicating new properties will be added. “We have the Marriott at Yeptons, the One and Only at Half Moon Bay, and several properties coming on stream in Barbuda within 18 months,” he said.
However, he cautioned about potential challenges in 2025, including economic uncertainties in source markets and the need to manage tourism growth sustainably, so as not to negatively impact local residents.
Antigua and Barbuda is also poised for growth in the cruise tourism sector, with 471 cruise calls expected for 2025, representing a 10 percent increase over the 428 calls in 2024.
Barbuda is projected to host five luxury cruise calls in February 2025, marking a new chapter in the island’s tourism development.