Bermuda's Tourism Industry Shows Continued Year-Over-Year Recovery
Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) has released the 2023 visitor arrivals report.
2023 was the first full year since 2019 without COVID-related travel restrictions and significant increases were seen across key measures in 2023 including air capacity, hotel occupancy and air and cruise arrivals.
In 2023 total visitor arrivals (air, cruise & yacht) increased 29.9% year over year. Air visitors grew by 27.1% and cruise visitors grew by 30.5%.
Compared to 2022, leisure air visitors grew by 21.9%, business air visitors grew by 42.2% and air visitors visiting friends and relatives grew 36.3%.
One of the highlights of 2023 was the increase in air capacity which grew by 21.6% year over year, with additional increases in capacity scheduled for 2024. 2023 also saw the introduction of BermudAir serving east coast cities with additional routes confirmed for 2024.
Challenges remain with hotel inventory which remained flat in 2023 at approximately 75% of 2019 levels. However, in 2023 hotel occupancy increased by 15.5%. Additionally, the Average Daily Rate (ADR) experienced a 6% boost. The Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) increased by 22.6% compared to 2022, also surpassing 2019.
Additionally, the vacation rentals sector saw results in occupancy growth, up 7.9% vs 2022. 10% of air visitors in 2023 chose this type of accommodation. Vacation rental inventory has also not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels with available listings in 2023 21% lower than in 2019.
In 2023, estimated Air visitor spending on-island reached $341.3 M in 2023, up 26.4% vs 2022. (85% of 2019). The average spend per cruise visitor rose 11% from 2022. Total Cruise visitor spending reached $150.8M in 2023, up 48.1% from 2022 and exceeding all historical annual cruise ship spending.
“The BTA remains committed to providing detailed reports on industry performance and ensuring transparency with our stakeholders and the public. While Bermuda experienced further incremental recovery in visitation levels in 2023, and there is more work to do, the data shows strong forward momentum. While hotel inventory continues to be a limiting factor, airlift increased significantly in 2023 and will expand further in 2024, exceeding 2019 capacity in some months. The BTA team remained focused on promotional efforts in key markets in 2023 that were well received and have translated into bookings and the promise of continued growth in 2024. The BTA team continues to work tirelessly to execute the seven pillars of the National Tourism Plan and build a better tourism ecosystem in Bermuda, increasing the economic impact of our visitors and providing increased opportunities for stakeholders, industry partners, and residents.” said Tracy Berkeley, CEO, BTA.
Bermuda Tourism Authority reports are available on the corporate page of the BTA website.
