Bermuda on trajectory for returning to pre-COVID-19 numbers
THE BERMUDA Tourism Authority (BTA) says the British Overseas Territory (BOTT) has recorded “a significant turning point”in visitor arrivals last year, recording a total of 714,000 as compared with 808,000 recorded in 2019.
The BTA said that the figure last year is the first year since the tourism sector was severely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (that it had recorded such growth) and it is predicting a 25 per cent increase in visitor arrivals this year.
The BTA is also hopeful that the air arrival figures for April and May this year are projected to climb above 2019 levels, with officials crediting the launch last year of BermudAir, along with the growth of services by JetBlue, United and American Airlines.
“More routes are now served to Bermuda than pre-pandemic, including restoring of all previous groups and adding Fort Lauderdale, Westchester County and the Azores.”
BermudAir’s Baltimore and Orlando links, set to debut this March, mean the airline will connect to “five US East Coast cities”, the BTA said.
DIRECT FLIGHTS
It said in addition, direct flights from Washington are set to return this April for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Bermuda in early 2020.
The BTA is predicting that for 2024 “all signs point to continuing the positive trajectory experienced in 2023”, highlighting more developments with the scheduled opening of the Bermudiana Beach Resort, boosting hotel inventory by 110 rooms.
There are 186 cruise ships forecast this year, expected to deliver“record-breaking passenger numbers”, the BTA added.
In its review of 2023, the BTA cited reduced hotel inventory as limiting visitor numbers along with “a full return to 2019 air capacity levels”.
The 185,000 air visitors in 2023 was down markedly on 269,000 for 2019.
Cruise figures rallied to 525,000, compared with 536,000 prepandemic levels and the 2023 visitor arrivals report showed the island continuing its climb out of the trough of 2020-21.
Last year’s overall visitor numbers grew 29.1 per cent on 2022, with the cruise sector topping the recovery, with a 30.5 per cent rise.
A nearly one-third drop in yacht visitors was attributed to the absence of the Newport Bermuda Race in 2023. Hotel inventory stayed flat last year at about 75 per cent of 2019 numbers – but occupancy was up 15.5 per cent year-on-year.
According to the BTA, air visitor spending last year was estimated at US$341.3 million, while cruise visitors spent US$150.8 million.
The United States remained the top market for Bermuda with air travellers accounting for 133,263 out of 185,335 arrivals.
The BTA said commercial properties were more popular than hotels last year for air visitor accommodation, taking in 124,944 guests compared with 121,848 staying in “hotels or similar”.