Grenada Reports Impressive Tourism Rebound Figures
This winter, Grenada has seen a rise in tourists that surpasses pre-pandemic levels.
With 14,232 guests, November's arrivals on the island were 17% higher than they were in the corresponding month in 2019.
The Grenada Tourism Authority predicts that December 2019's record-breaking month will be surpassed by last month.
The increase comes after all foreign flights resumed in the autumn, and British Airways' schedule from Gatwick was expanded to include a third flight each week on Sundays.
Air Canada now offers flights twice weekly, and Sunwing Airlines departs from Toronto every Sunday. A daily service is provided by Caribbean Airlines from Trinidad & Tobago, and Condor Airlines also flew directly back from Frankfurt.
Representatives from the UK, US, and Canada met one-on-one with local hotels and tourism stakeholders during the second annual tour operators marketplace while also travelling to the sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada also hosted a number of significant conferences in November.
GTA chief executive Petra Roach said: “During the pandemic, we did a lot of groundwork putting systems in place to create a more efficient operation and also to evaluate our activity.
“We engaged new PR teams in North America and the UK and strengthened our overseas sales teams.
“Our digital footprint has expanded significantly which has given us a much more cost effective marketing reach.
“A lot of time was prioritised for deepening the relationships with our distribution channels in the marketplace, such as our travel agent and tour operator partners, to better understand how their businesses align with our product.
“We continue to build our brand equity so that travellers keep Grenada in their consideration of destinations they want to visit. We are laser focused on attracting visitors who want to take advantage of our safe environment, numerous community initiatives and who want to get out and about.”
Tourism minister Lennox Andrews added: “We are heartened to see our arrival figures rebound so strongly with September, October and November showing increases of 11%, 6% and 17% respectively over the previous banner year of 2019.
“This is historically the highest November arrivals recorded. It speaks to a sound and focused strategy where connectivity and accessibility to our tri-island state remain highly prioritised.
“We as a government are committed to ensuring that we provide every opportunity for our people to benefit from this industry.”