Bermuda’s tourism arrival numbers are beginning to climb back, according to numbers released by the Bermuda Tourism Authority. 

For the year to date, the island has reported just under 80,000 visitors, representing a 76.1 percent increase over the same period in 2021.

In the third quarter, Bermuda’s air arrivals are down by 44 percent compared to 2019, a sign of just how far the island has to go in its tourism recovery. 

Indeed, Bermuda is lagging its neighbors further south in the Atlantic, where the Caribbean region has largely recovered its tourism numbers from 2019 — with many destinations eclipsing those totals. 

Air capacity in Bermuda is improving, though; capacity is up nearly 28 percent compared to lsat year, with load factors remaining strong and actually 2.6 percent above 2019 levels. 

Travelers to Bermuda are spending more, however; in-person expenditure last quarter rose to $1,941 per traveler, exceeding the per-person spend in the third quarter of 2019 by nearly 21 percent. 

And the island has seen a much faster recovery in the United Kingdom market than its traditional hubs in the United States and Canada. 

For much of the pandemic, Bermuda had some of the strictest entry health protocols of any destination in the hemisphere, something that has made its tourism recovery more challenging. 

“Our business intelligence informs both the big picture strategy and the tactical decisions of every division in this organization,” said Tracy Berkeley, interim Chief Executive Officer of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “That is why it is important to us that this information is regularly shared with our partners in the industry and the community.”