Anguilla Tourist Board hopes to strengthen ties with UK trade

The Anguilla Tourist Board hopes to cement its relationship with the trade as a leading Caribbean destination following a visit to the UK to showcase new developments.

The highlight of the trip to meet key trade partners was a dinner in London to showcase the Caribbean island’s tourism investments.

Deputy director of tourism Chantelle Richardson outlined developments including a 20 year plan to improve its international airport; increased airlift and new sustainability projects as well as festivals and cultural experiences and events.

The dinner was attended by Dorothea Hodge, the government of Anguilla UK representative, while the tourist board’s newly appointed coordinator of international markets Kohn Richardson also joined the UK visit last month.

In total British visitors to Anguilla in 2023 were 17% up on 2022 and figures so far this year indicate 2024 will end up 30% up on 2023. Globally, it has received 98,000 visitors from January to May this year, outstripping the total arrivals for 2019, which were 95,000.

Richardson said: “The Anguilla Tourist Board’s dedicated initiatives reflect a focused strategy to position Anguilla as a leading Caribbean destination in the UK market.

“By showcasing our world-class offerings and fostering strong relationships with travel trade professionals, Anguilla is set to increase visibility, attract high-value travellers, and drive tourism growth. We are fully committed to repositioning destination Anguilla in the UK market.”

She added: “Our island is flourishing thanks to increased investment, following the AI boom, which has boosted the country’s revenue through registration fees for websites that end in the Anguilla-owned domain of .ai., and this is being used to enhance our tourism offering.

“We have lots of exciting news to share with our UK travel trade partners with new airport infrastructure, increased flights and three new resorts and a luxury marina development coming in 2025 and 2026.”

The tourist board is also positioning the island as a top dive location and global leader in sustainable diving.

Anguilla’s minister of tourism, the Hon Haydn Hughes, has announced a new dive tourism policy, which includes a focus on sustainable dive practices, community involvement, and the development of partnerships and strategic collaborations with operators in the dive sector.