Antigua and Barbuda set to break arrival records with over 1.1 million visitors

Antigua and Barbuda is aiming to break the 1.1 million visitor mark by the end of this year.  

The authorities said that if the cruise ship, and air arrivals continue at this pace, then they will be breaking all the previous records.  

The twin island nation is set to close the year with an estimated of 15 percent improvement over pre pandemic year of 2019 which was the last best year on record. 

Minister of Tourism Charles Fernandez said that this is a significant development as tourism is by far the nation’s most important revenue earning sector and the major contributor to the economic activity.  

The Minister said that all three components of the sector are in record this time including air arrivals, cruise arrivals and yacht arrivals.  

It is expected that the air arrivals are projected to reach 320,000. Besides this, the cruise arrivals are expected to surpass the number of 800,000. Also, the yacht arrivals are expected to exceed a total of 20,000 mark.  

Minister Charles said that these figures represent record high for all the three pillars of the tourism industry and his team is excited about this robust performance. 

He further emphasised that the strong performance in air arrivals was on full display at the VC Bird International Airport when a record number of flights were received on Saturday, December 21.  

The Minister confirmed that the number exceeded the 51 flights earlier mentioned that day. He added that after including additional flights, the total number reached to 55 which was a truly remarkable achievement.  

Furthermore, the tourism ministry is also celebrating several other fresh accolades including Antigua and Barbuda being named the Caribbean Destination of the Year by Caribbean Journal.   

Not only this, but the Tourism Authority has also been recognized as the Caribbean's Tourist Board of the Year, which Minister Charles called a huge milestone. 

Looking ahead to the next year, the Minister expressed his optimism about the prospects for another record year.  

He said that several major projects are set to commence during the first quarter including the start of construction on the Marriott Hotel, launch of two new high-end hotel properties, commencement of the Rosewood property in Barbuda and the start of construction on a new hotel property in Barbuda.  

Moreover, the country is further anticipated to reap even more benefits from homeporting during the next year which will bring increased economic activity as well as other opportunities for stakeholders in the tourism sector.