Economic and Financial Review - June 2019

June 2019 Economic and Financial Review ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

months of 2019, evidenced by a 4.1 per cent contraction in total visitor arrivals to 637,761. The weaker performance in total arrivals was driven by a decline in the number of cruise ship visitors. Cruise ship passengers, which accounted for the largest share of visitors to Antigua and Barbuda, declined by 8.8 per cent to 459,810. The contraction in this market segment partly reflected a reversion to normal levels, following the historically strong performance recorded in the previous two years. The robust performance of the previous two years was associated with port closures in the Northern Caribbean from the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria. This development resulted in a fall in the number of cruise calls, which moved to 240 in the first half of the year from 283 in the similar period of the prior year. Conversely, the stay-over arrival segment, which is the largest contributor to GDP, further strengthened in the period under review. Buoyed by a number of notable events, stay- over arrivals grew by 11.4 per cent to 165,072, extending the 7.6 per cent expansion recorded in the first six months of the preceding year. The expansions were boosted by the country’s hosting of international cricket, regional conferences such as the Meeting of the OECS Authority,

as well as the opening of Royalton Antigua and Hodges Bay Resort and Spa. The notable performance was also attributed to innovative marketing strategies both regionally and internationally, including the launch of the global summer campaign, dubbed “ #WhatCoolLooksLike” by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority. The momentum was underpinned by increases in stay-over arrivals from both traditional and non-traditional source markets. Expansions were recorded in stay- over arrivals from the USA (17.7 per cent), Europe (9.7 per cent) and the Caribbean (9.5 per cent). Notably, stay-over arrivals from the United Kingdom rebounded to increase by 6.7 per cent, following a decline of 4.6 per cent in the first half of the previous year. Stay-over arrivals from South America, a burgeoning source market, posted a solid expansion of 47.0 per cent, although it only accounts for less than one per cent share of total stay-over visitors to Antigua and Barbuda. These expansions were partly offset by a decline of 3.1 per cent in stay-over arrivals from Canada, although the number of Canadian visitors remained near its historical level. Stay-over arrivals from other less- established markets continued to record growth, with an expansion of 35.9 per cent

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Eastern Caribbean Central Bank