Antigua and Barbuda must look beyond increasing visitor arrivals and pursue a tourism strategy that delivers longer stays, higher spending and greater benefits for local communities, Chief Marketing Officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority Charmaine Spencer has said.

Speaking at the opening of the ABTA Marketing Strategy Meetings on September 15, Spencer said the country was entering the discussions from a position of strength but could not afford to become complacent as competition and travellers’ expectations evolve.

“These are positive indicators, but our ambition cannot simply be more visitors. It must be more value from tourism: longer stays, higher visibility, better spending, stronger businesses and greater benefits reaching our local communities and people,” Spencer said.

The two-day meetings bring together tourism stakeholders and leaders from hospitality, aviation, meetings and incentives, yachting and sailing, events and sports. Participants are expected to assess the sector’s performance and help shape Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism priorities for the next two years.

According to Spencer, Antigua and Barbuda recorded 233,877 stayover arrivals through August 2026, representing a 0.9 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period in 2025.

The United States remained the country’s largest source market, while the United Kingdom and Canada recorded year-to-date growth of 11.2 per cent and 10.7 per cent, respectively.

The cruise sector is projected to welcome close to 895,000 passengers during 2026.

Spencer also pointed to expanding airlift and connectivity across the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Latin America. She said the anticipated completion of improvements to the airport runway and a modern, visitor-friendly upland development by the end of the year would further support the industry’s growth.

Despite the encouraging outlook, Spencer warned that Antigua and Barbuda must adapt its marketing to reach a new generation of visitors while maintaining relationships with loyal travellers.

“Today’s travellers are looking for more personalised, authentic and meaningful experiences,” she said. “Technology and AI are transforming how people discover and book destinations. Competition is also intensifying. So, quite simply, we cannot just market more. We have to market smarter.”

Spencer identified market diversification and “visitor-base succession planning” as one of the priorities that should guide the country’s tourism strategy.

She said Antigua and Barbuda must continue strengthening its traditional markets and retaining repeat visitors while developing opportunities in Latin America and other emerging markets.

The country must also deepen its focus on higher-value tourism, including luxury, wellness, yachting and sailing, meetings and incentives, and experiential travel.

Spencer said major events such as Carnival, Antigua Sailing Week, Culinary Month, cricket and music festivals must become more than fixtures on the national calendar.

“They should be reasons to come to Antigua and Barbuda,” she declared.

Data, digital marketing and artificial intelligence were also identified as critical areas for the industry.

“We need to understand our audiences better, personalise our communication and, importantly, measure the return on our marketing investment,” Spencer said.

She also called for the modernisation of Antigua and Barbuda’s destination brand, arguing that the country has much more to promote than its internationally known beaches.

“Yes, we have 365 beaches, but we also have 365 reasons to experience something different: our sailing, our cuisine, our history, our culture, our wellness, our sports, our luxury, our adventure and, of course, our people,” Spencer said.

“Our greatest competitive advantage remains the warmth and authenticity of our people.”

The chief marketing officer said the destination should capitalise on the international recognition it has received.

Antigua and Barbuda was named the Caribbean’s Leading Meetings and Conference Destination at the 2025 World Travel Awards.

Spencer said the destination has also received recognition for its tourism marketing, romance and honeymoon product, luxury offerings and emerging culinary sector.

“These accolades are more than awards. They are marketing assets,” she said. “They give us credibility. They give us content. And they give us reasons to tell new audiences around the world why they should choose Antigua and Barbuda.”

Spencer challenged participants to assess which strategies should continue, which should be abandoned and what the Authority should begin doing differently.

She said the final strategy must clearly identify target audiences, define the country’s tourism offering, explain why visitors should choose Antigua and Barbuda and establish how success will be measured.

“When we leave these sessions, I want us to have clear, measurable objectives, defined responsibilities and accountability,” she said.

Spencer concluded that Antigua and Barbuda possesses the product, people, investment, connectivity and international recognition needed to enter a new chapter of tourism development.

“Our responsibility now is to be intentional and to bring those strengths together into a strategy that delivers sustainable growth, greater visitor value and greater opportunities for the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” she said.

“Let us be honest about where we need to improve, let us be bold about where we can go, and let us work collaboratively to ensure that Antigua and Barbuda is not simply competing for visitors but setting the standard for what a modern Caribbean destination can be.”