By: Aabigayle McIntosh

Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Lionel Hurst is praising the efforts of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority and others in charge of marketing Antigua and Barbuda as a premier tourism destination for their stellar work.

“What cool looks like, cool is clean, your space in the sun, and the introduction of Antigua and Barbuda Restaurant Week are just some of the campaigns launched within the last five years to secure the tourism dollar. 2024 has also proven a major success for the country’s cruise sector,” Hurst told journalists on Thursday.

His comments came a day after Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez informed his Cabinet colleagues that a new record for air arrivals in April 2024 has been achieved.

The minister said 126,000 air arrivals were recorded for the period of January to April 2024, surpassing the previous record of 118,000 air arrivals during the same period in 2019.

It was noted that these figures do not include the arrivals from the 4th International Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference and the ICC T20 World Cup, which occurred in May and June 2024 respectively.

“There’s an investment of sorts. That’s why every tourist you see get off a vessel or arrive at V.C Bird International… those tourists represent an investment that the government of Antigua and Barbuda and the hotels make to bring passengers to this destination,” Hurst said.