According to the Minister of Tourism, Mr Haydn Hughes, Anguilla’s Festive Season was a big success and the Department is expected to have a very good tourism season this year. He made the projection during the government’s press briefing on Monday, January 16.
“The Festive period was a very successful period by most matrices. All of the major hotels, with the exception of one, surpassed their 2019 numbers, and that is really good. Some of the hotels had record levels of service charge last year and have surpassed those records this year.
“The general outlook is very good, notwithstanding the whole noise around the possibility of a recession in the United States. We, [in Anguilla], are positioned to mitigate that as much as possible. Be that as it may, there are some hotels [in Anguilla] that have committed to remain open throughout the rest of the year, and we continue to have this conversation and discussions as related to that.
“What we really want to ensure is that we have an economy that is robust throughout the year, not just a ten-month economy throughout the year.”
Minister Hughes noted that while most hotels did not remain open throughout last year, they were closed for a shorter period of time than in previous years. He also highlighted the expanded and improved offerings of some hotels to attract new and returning guests to their properties.
“We are very pleased to see what is happening on the culinary front, on the hospitality front, and on the business front. I think we are trending in the right direction.
Hotels, villas, Airbnb and other guest houses operators have invested much in renovations and maintenance of their accommodation properties with some of them enhancing their guest experience offerings. They remain hopeful that their occupancy rates will improve or remain high for the duration of the season.
With the new Blowing Point Ferry Terminal scheduled to be fully operational and used by travellers beginning on January 30, there is much optimism for enhanced traveller experiences and increased passenger movement through the sea port.
Meanwhile, airlift at the Clayton J Lloyd International Airport continues to rise, even amid the progression of ongoing enabling works at the site.
