by Brian Major
Last updated: 3:01 PM ET, Thu September 24, 2020
Travelers visiting Antigua and Barbuda have more than doubled since the country reopened V.C Bird International Airport to international flights in June, the country's tourism minister said this week.
The dual-island Caribbean nation hosted 94,810 visitors between January and August 2020, less than half of the 202,946 land-based visitors recorded in 2019, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data.
Arrivals declined sharply after the March COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, which drastically reduced airlift to the country, said Charles Fernandez, the country's minister of tourism.
North American travelers have since led the country's return to tourism activity, he said. In August, 67 percent of the 4,761 visitors arriving in Antigua and Barbuda traveled from the United States. The United Kingdom accounted for the next-largest group, with 21 percent of August's total.
American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, interCaribbean Airlines and Winair are presently offering flights to Antigua & Barbuda, and over "the next few months" Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, and Sunwing will launch additional service, said Fernandez.
October hotel re-openings in the territory will include the Blue Waters Resort, Tamarind Hills, Hermitage Bay, Antigua Village, Galley Bay Resort, Carlisle Bay Resort, St. James's Club, The Great House, Antigua Yacht Club Marina, Ocean Point Resort, Curtain Bluff Resort and Hawksbill, he said.
"As the destination opens up further, we [will] keep protective measures in place that have been designed to safeguard our residents and those who visit our shores," Fernandez added.
Travelers to the territory are required to adhere to COVID-19 protocols including traveling with proof of their negative PCR test and wearing facial masks when social distancing is not possible, he said. Fernandez also noted that tourism business protocols "in some instances mean reduced occupancy levels."
He added, "The Ministry of Tourism and the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority continue to carefully monitor the Covid-19 landscape within our main source markets."
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