There are signs that the hotel sector continues to improve following the two years of stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, recent figures indicate that the industry still lags behind the record breaking 2019 performance.
The latest statistics released by the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourist Association (ABHTA) show that hotel occupancy in 2022 was 74.6 percent.
While this is better than 2021’s 70.4 percent, 2020’s 44.8 percent and 2019 at 69.4 percent, the ABHTA noted that the 15,000 room nights that were available in 2019 were closed in 2022.
When 2022’s occupancy rate is adjusted with this fact in mind, the average falls to 62.2 percent.
Arrivals in December 2022 were down across the board from those recorded in 2019. A look at arrivals from the four top source markets reflected that trend.
The overall arrivals in December 2022 were 30,656. In 2019, the figure recorded was 37,818.
December arrivals from the country’s main source market, the United States, stood at 14,715 compared with 15,662 for the same month in 2019.
From the United Kingdom 7,852 arrivals were recorded in December 2022 compared with 9,278 for the same month in 2019.
Arrivals from Canada were 3,576 for the period under review compared with 5077 in December 2019.
Arrivals from the Caribbean were also down last month when compared with the same month in 2019, 2,429 versus 3,874.
