The Bermuda Tourism Authority published their 2024 Q4 and year-end visitor statistics
Bermuda’s tourism industry appears to be making strides to recover four years after the Pandemic.
The latest statistics from the Bermuda Tourism Authority says 2024 proved a year of significant growth across air, cruise, and yacht arrivals.
Though a lack of hotel inventory, they said continues to hinder growth.
Air visitor arrivals rose in 2024 driven by strong performance in key U.S. markets, which saw year-over-year increases from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
The BTA says it attributes this growth to 25% increase in air capacity offering more gateway cities and seats available to Bermuda.
The number of vacationers travelling specifically to the island for leisure increased to 139,546 visitors or 15% year on year.
Additionally, leisure air visitors spent $300.12 million or 10% more than the previous year.
Total visitor spending reached $531 million with air visitors spending $416.5 million in 2024 or a 22% increase from 2023.
Most of the spending increase was in the accommodation sector with air visitors spending $245.1million at hotels, or 37% more than the previous year.
Occupancy rates increased 4.5%, which the BTA says stifles air visitor growth during the summer months.
They said, “The temporary closure and renovation of major properties, such as the Fairmont Southampton and Elbow Beach hotels, has shrunk the available inventory, with hotel capacity remaining at approximately 75% of 2019 levels.”
In 2025, hotel capacity is expected to remain relatively flat, with only modest increases anticipated, including the addition of some newly completed rooms in the Nautilus wing of Azura and the planned opening of Hillcrest, a new 14-room boutique hotel in St George’s.
Bermuda welcomed over 535,000 cruise visitors in 2024 translating to a 1.9% increase, contributing to the island’s tourism economy although, cruise spending was down 8.7% to an average spend of $214.16 per passenger.
Superyacht arrivals rose by 30% from 56 to 79 and a total 974 yachts reached our shores contributing over $13.8m in economic impact.
The BTA says events held during the shoulder months- January through May and September through December continue to drive positive economic impact to supplement volume. This includes the Chubb Triangle Challenge, Butterfield Bermuda Championship PGATOUR, Apex Bermuda SailGP and the Newport Bermuda Yacht Race.
The Vegan Fest, a locally curated food festival to boost visitor experiences saw a 30% increase in visitation.
Tracy Berkeley, CEO said, “We are moving in the right direction, and we will not be derailed from our mission to maximise value for Bermuda’s tourism sector. Bermuda has seen growth across key metrics in 2024, and my team is on track for more good news, driving long term group business and making inroads in the luxury sector.”
She says the BTA look forward to welcoming more visitors this year and 2026.
