The Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) returned to the Canadian market last week, meeting with travel trade industry representatives and media. Stacey Liburd, Anguilla’s Director of Tourism, and Kohn Richardson, Co-ordinator of International Markets, visited Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City where shared record-breaking arrival numbers, led by visitors from the island’s top markets, Canada and the US.

The increase in visitor arrivals to nearly 100,000 for the Jan.-May period was positively impacted by the arrivals from both types of visitors; stay-overs (57,000) and day-trippers (41,000). The growth in arrivals continues to be led by the island’s two largest source markets, the US and Canada.

The director identified increased accessibility and robust airlift as key components of Anguilla’s 2024 success to date, with American Airlines adding a third weekly flight from Miami, expanded private charter options, and increased intra-regional airlift from the likes of Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Barth’s, and Antigua specifically contributing to making Anguilla more accessible than ever.

Turning her attention to the future, Liburd spoke to a full slate of new investments, property debuts, and general good news for Anguilla in 2025, including:

• The 2025 groundbreaking of a new passenger terminal and runway extension project, empowering Anguilla to accommodate Code C aircraft (aircraft as large as the Boeing 737 Max 8) following on the heels of a new cargo building completed in 2024
• The beginning of construction of two new luxury yacht marinas: the Altamer and the Savannah Bay Marina and Resort
• The 2025 opening of Ani Private Resorts, a 15-suite development on Shoal Bay
• The 40th-anniversary celebration of Malliouhana, encompassing an entire season of culinary, musical, and cultural events, and
• Tranquility Beach Resort claiming TripAdvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Award for the 3rd Year in a Row, with Mead’s Bay also being recognized as the world’s 3rd-best beach in USA Today

2025 is also shaping up to be a busy year for events and programs in Anguilla, the director said. Beyond the return of Anguilla’s Summer Festival, the Festival Del Mar, The Anguilla Culinary Experience (ACE), and the legendary Moonsplash Musical Festival, Anguilla will be rolling out expanded Volun-Tourism programs, aimed at giving visitors the chance to give back to the community and further Anguilla’s goal of becoming the region’s most sustainable island.

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