By the Caribbean Journal staff
Canadians are flocking to Antigua and Barbuda, according to recently-released numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
In the first half of 2018, Antigua and Barbuda reported a total of 23,243 tourists from Canada, a number that represented a whopping 81.5 percent increase compared to the same period in 2017.
That growth rate was the highest increase in Canadian visitors of any destination in the Caribbean in the first half of 2018, according to the CTO report.
The report’s data was released during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Industry conference at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas this week.
Antigua saw a total of 148,139 tourists in the first half overall, which represented a 7.6 percent increase in stayover visitor arrivals compared to the first half of 2017.
The Caribbean destination which the next-highest growth rate from the Canadian market? Belize, which reported 22,381 visitors from Canada, a 43 percent jump over last year at this time.
— CJ