Tourism to the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire is ahead of pre-pandemic highs, according to newly-released data provided to Caribbean Journal.
The island welcomed 88,749 air arrivals in the first half of 2023, up from 83,100 in the first six months of 2019.
The total was also higher than the 85,100 air arrivals reported in the first half of 2022, according to the data from Tourism Corporation Bonaire.
About 40 percent of visitors were newcomers, while nearly 60 percent were returning visitors to the island.
Of those, 25 percent of repeat visitors had visited the island between two and five times in the past.
The Netherlands remains the dominant tourism source market for the island, comprising nearly 47 percent of all visitors, followed by the United States market at 24.1 percent.
On the cruise side, Bonaire welcomed 108 ships comprising 275,702 passengers.
