Dominica’s visitor arrivals performance in the first half of 2023 is the best on record since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is indicative of the continued recovery of the tourism industry. Preliminary data suggests a total of 33,815 visitor arrivals for the period. This figure reflects a 58% increase over the same period in 2022 and a 128% increase over the full year 2021. This performance was evident across all major source markets, each showing significant improvement in arrivals over corresponding periods. The US had the highest number of arrivals (7,613), accounting for 23% of stayover visitation. The FWI has shown significant progress by yielding 21% of visitation. After having declined to 1.21% market share in H1 2021, it is now aligned to its pre-pandemic share of arrivals .
This momentum is expected to continue in H2 as an influx of visitors is anticipated for various events including Breakfast Fete, Cadence-Lypso Festival, and Dominica’s flagship event, the World Creole Music Festival. The pace is set for a significant increase in visitor arrivals with heightened marketing activity and an increase in air capacity through additional flights by multiple airlines.
