Whether it’s for the diving, the windsurfing, the abundant natural beauty or the booming culinary scene, American travelers are flocking to the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire right now.
Bonaire is reporting a 37 percent increase in American visitors to the island in March, thanks in large part due to an increase in flights from the US mainland from carriers like American Airlines, Delta and United.
The island also saw a major increase in Canadian visitation, the result of a popular new route out of Toronto on Canadian carrier WestJet — to the tune of a 186 percent jump compared to March 2023.
Overall, Bonaire continues to see its tourism numbers eclipse its pre-pandemic totals, with March showing 18,169 stay over visitors, a new record. That was a 13.5 percent increase over the same period in 2019.
On the cruise side, Bonaire saw 48,233 cruise visitors on 23 cruise ships in the previous month.
The numbers should continue to grow this summer, with American Airlines’ plans to add a fourth and then fifth weekly flight to the island out of the all-important Miami market.