The Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) has announced that, as anticipated, 2019 proved to be a record-breaking year in terms of tourist (stayover) arrivals to the island. A total of 95,375 tourist arrivals were recorded, a 20.4 percent increase over the benchmark year of 2016, which held the previous record of 79,239 stayover arrivals.
Looking into the numbers: Tourist arrivals surpassed those of 2016 by double digits in every quarter, capped by a record-breaking December, with 9,868 tourist arrivals (beating the previous December by 734 arrivals). Last year was also the best year ever for tourist arrivals from the U.S. with a 25.2 percent increase over 2016, the previous benchmark. Tourist arrivals for 2019 showed a 75 percent increase over 2018, signaling the strength and sustainability of the island’s post-Hurricane Irma recovery.
Anguilla Tourist Board Chairperson Donna Daniels-Banks said their goal for 2019 was a 20 percent increase over 2016, which they accomplished. Looking towards 2020, she says the ATB has “set an even more ambitious target for 2020”—a further increase of 20 percent over 2019 arrivals.
Since the beginning of the year, the Anguilla Tourist Board has deployed its sales representatives on an extensive schedule of trade shows in major source markets—New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Italy, Columbia and Ottawa—to keep the momentum going, and drive bookings across the board for the island. A series of marketing and promotional initiatives are also underway to generate awareness and enhance the island’s reputation.
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