Bermuda has recorded its 10th consecutive month of leisure visitor growth, with October tourism figures up over the same month last year, despite the visitor boost from the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in October 2015 and the visitor cancellations associated with Hurricane Nicole in October 2016.
Officials from the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) believe the October example shows a resiliency to the tourism resurgence currently underway and are especially upbeat about the 20 percent growth in vacation air arrivals. Vacation air arrivals is the metric the BTA focuses its marketing on the most because those vacationers have the biggest impact on the local economy.
Year-to-date, vacation air visitors from the United States are up 20 percent, up 28 percent in October 2016 alone, when compared to a year ago.
With vacation air arrivals from all countries factored in, business is up 14 percent year-to-date, equating to more than 18,000 additional tourists flying to the island.
Tourism, Transport and Municipalities Minister, Senator the Hon. Michael M. Fahy JP said, "We have increased the number of airline seats by nearly 12 percent so far this year and vacation air arrivals are up 14 percent. That's an addition of about 51,000 seats and an additional 18,000 vacationers. And we believe that continuing efforts by the Bermuda Tourism Authority will ensure that more of the under-utilized capacity is utilized going forward.
"The BTA has a number of irons in the fire for 2017 and as a result of their work, coupled with the America's Cup, forward hotel bookings look very strong. With that expected growth we can fill more of the increased airline capacity that came on line this year. This is just one of the ways our air carrier and tourism strategies are effectively synchronized."
In the year to date, Bermuda's total leisure visitors (vacation air and cruise numbers combined) have jumped some eight percent over last year - and nearly 13 percent from two years ago.
Minister Fahy added, "There is no denying that we still have some work to do, but we're pleased with the level of growth we're experiencing this year.
"Hotel occupancy for the year is up seven percent after really strong performance during the summer months. Now the focus is on raising occupancy further, particularly in the shoulder months. As we look toward a strong America's Cup boost in May and June of 2017, we won't take our eye off the goal of making Bermuda a truly year-round destination. A strong October performance is a big step in that direction."
The full BTA report on October visitor arrivals can be found on the Bermuda Tourism website: GoToBermuda.com