by Brian Major
Last updated: 11:25 AM ET, Wed May 1, 2024
The record visitor arrivals Anguilla achieved last year are
continuing in 2024. The tiny Caribbean nation reported 62,188 arrivals during
2024’s first quarter, representing a 22.2 percent increase over 2023 totals and
a 24.4 percent rise over pre-pandemic 2019, said Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) officials.
In a statement, ATB
officials attributed the country’s first-quarter 2024 arrivals to traveler growth
from the United States and Canada, the destination’s largest source markets. U.S.
visitor arrivals totaled 41,399, up 32.7 percent over 2023, while Canadian
visitor arrivals totaled 4,689 travelers, up 22.4 percent from 2023.
"Tourism thrives
on collaboration, and this remarkable achievement underscores the immense
cooperation and backing we receive from our valued stakeholders,” said Stacey
Liburd, Anguilla’s director of tourism.
“With this momentum, we
eagerly anticipate surpassing our achievements and making 2024 an outstanding
year,” Liburd added.
Anguilla’s government is
preparing for the island’s surging arrivals. Clayton J. Lloyd International
Airport is undergoing a renovation, with work on a new 50,000-square-foot passenger
terminal scheduled for completion in 2025.
An extension of the airport’s
runway to 7,000 feet will follow as the next phase of the redevelopment program,
ATB officials said.
In January, the new
ferry terminal facility at Blowing Point, Anguilla, opened, marking the renovation of a key destination
transfer point to contemporary standards.
“This administration
made a commitment to significantly modernize Anguilla’s infrastructure, for the
benefit of both our visitors and importantly, our on-island community,” said Haydn
Hughes, Anguilla’s minister of infrastructure, communications, housing, utilities
and tourism.
“The opening of the
Blowing Point Ferry Terminal is yet another commitment fulfilled, along with
the redesign of the Valley Main Road, the recent upgrades at the airport, and
the development of the 20-year airport master plan,” he said.
Added Hughes, “We are at once enhancing the
visitor experience and enhancing the lives of our local residents.”
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