As the calendar flips to 2024, the tourism sector in Antigua and Barbuda is showing promising signs of growth, with early indications suggesting that this year could outshine even the record-breaking performance of 2019.
Recent data released by the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association reveal a marginal increase in hotel occupancy rates for January 2024 compared to both 2023 and the benchmark year of 2019. January 2024 saw hotel occupancy reach 80.8%, a slight uptick from 79.8% in 2023 and 79.0% in 2019.
In terms of air arrivals, January 2024 also showed a modest increase over 2019 figures. The total number of arrivals by air in January stood at 30,690, compared to 30,243 in January 2019.
Notably, the United States remains a key driver of tourism growth, being the only source market to experience an increase in arrivals, contributing 45% of all visitors with 13,724 arrivals in January.
Conversely, the UK, the second-largest source market for Antigua and Barbuda tourism, witnessed a decline from 8,776 visitors in 2019 to 7,812 in 2024.
All other source markets experienced decreases in arrivals from 2019 to 2024.
One of the challenges facing the tourism industry in Antigua and Barbuda is the reduction in airlifts to the destination.
This reduction has been particularly impactful on arrivals from the UK, as both British Airways and Virgin have scaled back their flights to the region.
