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Research and Statistics Department

Ministry of Tourism, Foreign Affairs & Immigration

2017

End of Year Report

Research and Statistics Department

Ministry of Tourism, Foreign

Affairs & Immigration

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Foreword

This report provides a quantitative analysis of Tourist Arrivals to Antigua and Barbuda for the year 2017. The data for this report was provided by the Immigration Department from the Embarkation/Disembarkation (E/D) cards and the cruise ships’ manifests. This report was prepared and published by the Research and Statistics Department in the Ministry of Tourism, Foreign Affairs & Immigration.

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Contents

The Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 4

Arrivals by Gender ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Age Distrubution: .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Air Arrivals: .................................................................................................................................................... 7

Arrivals by Market ......................................................................................................................................... 9

Place of Stay ................................................................................................................................................ 11

Length of Stay ............................................................................................................................................. 12

Sea Arrivals .................................................................................................................................................. 13

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The Overview

Visitors are classified as persons who stay more than 24 hours, but less than one year, within a country outside of their usual country of residence. Persons who are in transit and/or spend less than a day are not classified as visitors. Total Sea Arrivals are comprised of tourists arriving by Cruise and Yacht, with Cruise visitors spending less than a day, and Yacht visitors a day or more.

Antigua and Barbuda attracted a total of 1,035,731 visitors to its shores in 2017. Of this number, 247,320 arrived by air and 788,411arrived by sea. Sea arrivals for 2017 accounted 76% of the total number of visitors, while 24% arrived by air. In contrast, there were 891,427 visitors to Antigua and Barbuda in 2016, 70% of the total number of visitors came by sea and 30% by air. Thus, there has been a 16% increase in the number of visitors to Antigua and Barbuda from the previous year 2016. Moreover, in 2017 Antigua and Barbuda has seen its highest level of total arrivals for the past five years.

Demographics

Table 1: Total Visitor Arrivals (2013-2017)

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

% change 2016-2017

Air 243,219 249,316 250,450 265,187 247,320 -7%

Sea 552,533 540,264 663,507 626,240 788411 26%

Total 795,752 789,580 913,957 891,427 1,035,731 16%

Figure 1: Total Visitor Arrivals (2013-2017)

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Total Visitor Arrivals

Air Sea Total

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Arrivals by Gender

Figure 2: Arrivals by Gender (2016-2017)

Figure 2 above compares 2016 and 2017 Tourist Arrivals to Antigua and Barbuda by Gender. Evidently, Females accounted for the majority of Tourist Arrivals in 2017. Where, 59% were females, 41% were males. However, in 2016 63% were female passengers and 37% were male passengers. Antigua and Barbuda attracted a higher percentage of males in 2017 when compared with the previous year and the percentage in female arrivals saw a slight decrease in 2017 when compared to 2016.

41%

59%

37%

63%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Male Female

Arrivals by Gender

2017 2016

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Age Distribution:

Figure 3: Age Distribution (2016-2017)

Figure 3 highlights the percentage distribution of Tourist Arrivals by age range in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, a total of 18,442 visitors were between the ages 0-14, 19,268 were between the ages 15-24, while the age range 25-34 saw a total of 41,734 visitors to Antigua and Barbuda. The age range of 35-44 saw a total of 39,303 visitors and accounted for 16% of all tourist arrivals in 2017 and 16% in 2016 as well. Those within the age range 45-55 represent 22% in 2017 and 23% in 2016. The year 2017 saw a total of 40,990 within the 56-64 age range. Arrivals by ages 65 & Over totaled 32,848 and accounted for 13% in 2017 and 12% in 2016. Tourists who visit Antigua and Barbuda are generally between the ages 25-34 or 45-55.

7% 8%

19%

16%

23%

16%

12%7% 8%

17%16%

22%

17%

13%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

0-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-55 56-64 65 & Over

Age Disstribution by Year

2016 2017 % Growth 2016 % Growth 2017

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Air Arrivals:

Table 2 below compares visitor arrival by air. Here we see an upward trend in the total number

of Air Passenger Arrivals between 2013-2016 with a decrease in 2017.

Table 2: Arrivals by Air (2013-2017

Figure 4 shows that 2016 had the highest level of Air arrivals for the past five years. 247,320

visitors came to Antigua & Barbuda by air in 2017 compared to 265,187 in 2016. This represents

a -7% decrease in the total air arrivals.

Figure 4: Air Arrivals (2013-2017)

Month 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change 2016-2017

January 23,946 25,920 23,637 26,928 25,463 -5%

February 24,145 26,842 24,808 27,317 26,567 -3%

March 28,211 26,788 26,048 30,321 26,952 -11%

April 21,116 23,543 23,564 23,951 24,069 0%

May 15,540 18,529 18,513 18,807 17,974 -4%

June 16,433 16,695 16,845 18,240 16,630 -9%

July 25,527 21,001 21,359 24,544 22,109 -10%

August 15,523 17,524 16,660 17,256 16,833 -2%

September 11,143 11,285 12,153 12,821 9,412 -27%

October 14,318 15,182 16,920 17,119 14,437 -16%

November 20,840 19,907 21,616 21,293 19,447 -9%

December 26,477 26,100 28,327 26,590 27,427 3%

Total 243,219 249,316 250,450 265,187 247,320 -7%

230,000

235,000

240,000

245,000

250,000

255,000

260,000

265,000

270,000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Air

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From the chart below, we can deduce that September 2017 saw the lowest number of air

arrivals over the 5-year period with a total of 9,412 passengers.

Figure 5: Air Arrivals (2016-2017)

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

Air Arrivals 2016-2017

2016 2017

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Arrivals by Market

In the Table 3 and Figure 6 below, we see a comparison in arrivals by main markets for

2016 and 2017. The main markets are still USA, United Kingdom and Canada. For the United

Kingdom there were 70,701 visitors in 2017 compared to 76,512 in 2016 a -8 % decrease in

arrivals from the market. For the United States market there were 96,347 visitors in 2017

compared to 108,652 in 2016, a -11% decrease. For the Canada market there were 22,932

visitors compared to 21,196 in 2016 an increase by 8%. In 2017 the Cuban market saw the

highest percentage increase in arrivals, in 2016 there was a total of 221 visitors from Cuba and

in 2017 arrivals increased by 145% with a total of 542 visitor arrivals from the market.

Table 3: Arrivals by Market (2016-2017)

2016 2017

Total Visitors 265,187

247,320 -7%

USA 108,652 96,347 -11%

Canada 21,196 22,932 8%

UK 76,512 70,701 -8%

Italy 8,600 8,527 -1%

France 1,632 1,610 -1%

Germany 2,165 2,120 -2%

Rest of Europe 7,047 7,456 6%

OECS 12,594 10,807 -14%

Other CARICOM 12,693 13,123 3%

Other Commonwealth 2,660 2,834 7%

French West Indies 722 702 -3%

Dutch West Indies 1,287 1,181 -8%

Cuba 221 542 145%

Rest of the Caribbean 3,721 2,789 -25%

South America 1,660 1,404 -15%

Central America 475 659 39%

Rest of the World 3,350 3,586 7%

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Figure 6: Arrivals by Market (2016-2017)

Figure7: Percentage Arrivals by Market (2015)

Figure 7. shows the proportion of visitors by main market for the year 2017. As seen the

majority came from the USA market followed by United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.

-11%

8%-8% -1% -1% -2%

6%

-14%

3% 7%-3% -8%

145%

-25%-15%

39%

7%

-40%

-20%

0%

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100%

120%

140%

160%

0

20,000

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Arrivals by Source Markets

2016 2017 % change 16/17

39%

9%

29%8%

13%2%15%

Percentage Distribution for Major Source Markets

USA Canada UK Rest of Europe Caribbean Rest of the world

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Place of Stay Hotels can be seen as the preferred choice of accommodation for visitors to Antigua and

Barbuda in 2017. 68% of all tourists indicated “Hotels” as their accommodation choice. Whereas, visitors who stayed at their ‘Own Home’ accounted for 19%. This category saw no changed when compared to the previous year. Apartments/ Villas accounted for 11% while visitors who stayed at “Guest Houses’ represented a marginal proportion of 1%. Assessing the major Tourism Source Markets for Antigua and Barbuda, tourists from the United States, Canada and Europe prefer Hotels as their choice of accommodation. However, visitors from the Caribbean prefer private dwelling or ‘Own Home’ as their means of accommodation.

Figure 8: Place of Stay (2017)

Figure 9: Place of Stay Percentage (2017)

69845 16700 5481612600

122382,453

586 209533

244

1394

118

9255 29018030

3146

3127

849

16636 3118 72933715

152151628

Place of Stay

Hotels Guest Houses Apartment s/ Villas Own Home

USA Canada UK Rest Of Europe Caribbean Rest of World

68%1%

11%

19%

Place of Stay Percentage

Hotels Guest Houses Apartment s/ Villas Own Home

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Length of Stay Among all tourist arrivals for 2017, 10% spent a minimum of 1-3 days. Tourist Arrivals within

The Caribbean stands out as the main contributor with a total of 10,070 visitors spending 1-

3days. However. 51% of the visitors who visited Antigua and Barbuda spent 4-7 days, this is

decrease by 5% when compared to 2016. This is influenced by tourist arrivals from the US

market, which saw a total of 62536 visitors spending 4-7days. Visitors who stayed 8-14 days

accounted for 29% of all arrivals to Antigua and Barbuda. Evidently, it can be seen that the

majority who spent 8-14 days visited from the UK, with a total of 35,040 visitors and the United

States with a total of 20360. In 2017 only 10% of all visitors spent 15 days or more. This category

saw an 18% growth increase from 2016. The majority of tourist who stayed within this period

came from the US, the UK and the Caribbean

Figure 10: Length of Stay (2017)

6767 998 4416 2016

100701181

62536 14847

24843

8855

11932

2292

20360 5347

350406368

41941086

6651 1737 6392 2473 5746 1050

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Length of Stay

1 - 3 Days 4-7 Days 8 - 14 Days 15+ Days

USA Canada U.K. Rest of Caribbean Rest of Europe World

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Sea Arrivals

In the year 2017, a total of 792,861 visitors travelled to Antigua and Barbuda by Cruise Ship.

Whereas, a total of 608,503 travelled by Cruise Ship in 2016. Consequently, in 2017 Cruise

Arrivals saw an increase of 23% from that of the previous year.

The following months are examined to assess the monthly performance of Cruise

Arrivals for the year 2017. In 2017, a slight decrease of -4% and -2% can be seen in cruse arrivals for the months of January and February. The month of March saw a 19% increase in arrivals, a difference of 18,212 passengers from that of 2016. April also experienced an increase of 55% while May saw an increase of 57% when compared to 2016. The months June – September saw a decrease in passenger arrivals and a total decline of -25% between the 4 months combined, a difference of 9,172 passengers when compared to 2016. The last quarter of 2017, October-December saw drastic increases in cruise passenger arrivals and was significant in the overall increase in cruise arrivals for 2017.

Figure 11: Visitor Arrivals by Cruise (2017)

-4% -2%19%

55% 57%

-0.23-0.46

-0.27-0.04

197%

90%

60%

-100%

-50%

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

250%

-

20,000

40,000

60,000

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120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

Cruise Arrivals

2017 2016 Monthly % Change

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Figure 12: Passenger Arrivals by Yacht (2016-2017)

A total of 19,543 visitors travelled to Antigua and Barbuda by Yacht in the year 2017. While, a total of 17,737 visited by Yacht in 2016, a difference of 1,806 and an overall growth of 10% in passenger arrivals for the year 2017. Positive growth can be seen during the period February-September Meanwhile, months such as January and October saw a decline of -17% and -4% respectively. November and December also saw an increase in yacht passenger arrivals of 9% respectively.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

2017 3,023 3,343 3,031 2,961 1,147 547 513 375 131 260 1,633 2,579

2016 3,627 2,445 2,908 2,396 936 429 477 311 72 271 1,505 2,360

-17% 37% 4% 24% 23% 28% 8% 21% 82% -4% 9% 9%

-17%

37%

4%

24% 23%28%

8%

21%

82%

-4%

9%9%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Passenger Arrivals by Yacht

2017 2016

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Table 4 below compares the total visitor arrival by Sea (both Cruise & Yacht).

Over the 5-year period we can see a positive growth trend between 2013-2015 with a slight

decrease in 2016. In 2017 with increased cruise and yacht vessels arriving in Antigua & Barbuda

the total visitor arrivals by sea increased by 30%

Table4: Total Sea Arrivals (2013-2017)

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 % change '16-'17

January 119,204 101,661 122,226 132,461 131,805 0%

February 93,622 87,497 99,460 109,660 108,935 -1%

March 85,924 89,389 108,403 97,705 116,040 19%

April 49,240 31,628 54,563 39,264 59,975 53%

May 11,000 12,114 14,871 11,886 18,316 54%

June 8,910 8,933 14,214 11,101 8,786 -21%

July 14,929 12,339 14,782 8,084 4,635 -43%

August 9,330 9,390 11,130 11,205 8,270 -26%

September 9,788 18,157 14,780 6,829 6,613 -3%

October 12,644 19,176 21,641 10,950 31,985 192%

November 50,073 53,113 63,361 66,446 125,084 88%

December 84,793 96,867 123,625 120,668 191,960 59%

Total 549,457 540,264 663,056 626,259 812,404 30%