Release – The Grenada Tourism Authority is pleased to report a significant increase in tourist arrivals in the first half of this year, from January to July 2024. Visitor numbers have risen by 20% in Q1 and Q2 compared to 2019 and 18% compared to 2023 – reflecting the continued growth of Grenada as a sought-after travel destination despite recent challenges.
In July 2024 alone, visitor arrivals increased by 10% over 2019 and 5% over 2023. Travel intelligence and data analytics company ForwardKeys produced a detailed analysis of the impact of Hurricane Beryl. They included a focus on the quick recovery of Grenada as one of their case studies. “The market has shown impressive resilience, quickly bouncing back to normal booking levels,” the organization noted. Olivier Ponti, Director of Intelligence and Marketing at ForwardKeys, stated, “Our comprehensive travel intelligence clearly shows the significant short-term impact that Hurricane Beryl had on travel to the Caribbean, particularly those islands in the direct path of the storm.”
Following Hurricane Beryl’s passage, tourism officials worked tirelessly to reassure the world and major source markets of the tri-island state’s resilience. While the northern parts of the island and sister islands needed relief aid and assistance, mainland Grenada remained open for visitors. These conscientious, strategic efforts have been pivotal in achieving these impressive results.
“We are thrilled to see such positive growth in our visitor arrivals during this period, which speaks volumes about Grenada’s enduring appeal and the hard work of our tourism stakeholders,” said Petra Roach, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority. “Our strategic efforts to maintain and grow our market share have been multifaceted. We have actively engaged with our key source markets to meet directly with travel and airline partners, as well as with media members,” she explains. According to Roach, these interactions were necessary steps that conveyed that Grenada is open and ready to welcome visitors, as reflected in the impressive data on record. Roach continued, “The dedicated and collaborative efforts of our entire tourism sector have truly paid off, and we are optimistic about continuing this momentum throughout the rest of 2024 and beyond for Grenada.”
