The Government of Anguilla has received the biggest Accommodation Tax revenue in its history, Mr Haydn Hughes, Minister of Tourism announced at the government’s press briefing on Monday, March 7.
Mr Hughes observed: “Last year, January, over EC$6 million was derived from Accommodation Tax, and in January 2022, Government collected over EC$8 million – the highest in accommodation tax. This is very good, given that we are still in the COVID-19 pandemic” – which forced the island’s economy to shut down for over 2 years due to border closure and loss of Tourism Industry revenue.
Also speaking at the press briefing, Parliamentary Secretary, Mrs Quincia Gumbs-Marie said that the tourism industry is showing positive growth signs and attributes this to a number of Roadshow events the Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) held in the US last year.
She stated: “This month, we recognised the highest accommodation tax in the history of Anguilla. We look at that as a significant marker for the level of work that we have done. We also recognised just over US$1 million in revenue from our Work from Home visa which was also championed by the ATB marketing team.
She noted that the ATB is working hard to ensure that Anguilla remains “at top of mind” and “increase our market share” so that it remains “one of the preferred destinations” as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mrs Gumbs-Marie commended the ATB team and its director “for ensuring that Anguilla gets value for money in all of our marketing investments, collaborations and partnerships outside of Anguilla, remains centered in the conversation while travel is limited, and is represented internationally.”
Recently, Anguilla – as a tourist destination – has been featured favourably in several magazines already into the 2022 tourism season. It was listed in Travel and Leisure’s top twenty-five destinations, in Lonely Planet as one of the ten best places to travel to, and included in Harper’s Bazaar among the top booked wedding destinations, globally.
Mrs Gumbs-Marie also observed that two of Anguilla’s local beach bars – Elvis Beach Bar and Sunshine Shack – were listed as some of the best in the region.
She noted that some of Anguilla’s accommodation properties have been featured internationally as well – Cap Juluca Belmond was included in the Conde Nast Traveler ‘best hotels and resorts in the world’ list and Frangipani was placed in the world’s best.
