Visitors are Spending more Money on Island
In addition to overall growth in arrivals, tourists are on average spending more money during their visits to Barbados. According to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Quarterly Exit Survey, stayover visitors to Barbados spent a daily average of US $167.41 compared to US $164.40 for the corresponding period in 2015.
2016 also saw a 6.7% increase in actual arrivals, which when coupled with an increased average daily spend, realized a 9.2% growth in overall visitor expenditure on the island. Total expenditure in 2016 was US $984,342 million, compared to US $901,294 million in 2015.
CEO of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), William ‘Billy’ Griffith, asserted that “these favourable conditions are ripe with opportunities for Barbadians. More tourists are coming to our shores and they are spending more. In response, we need to ensure we encourage this upward trend in visitor spend by focusing our efforts on consistently offering exciting, quality experiences.”
U.K. visitors spend most on average
There was an increase in average daily expenditure during 2016 at an estimated US $167.41 compared to US $164.40 for the corresponding period of 2015 – an increase of 1.8% or US$3.01. When the markets were examined, visitors from the United Kingdom spent the most on average, US $184.72, which represented an increase of 4.1% or US $7.22.
Visitors from the Caribbean and Canada territories also spent more in 2016, recording increases of 3.5% and 1.9% respectively.
Overall top performers
Total visitor expenditure increases during 2016 were spread across several markets. The United States recorded an increase of 18.5% in total visitor spend, while the United Kingdom, Canada and the Caribbean region registered growths of 12.6%, 7.4% and 1.3% respectively.
Although the remaining markets saw declines in spend, they contributed generously to the overall total expenditure. Visitors from Europe spent US $61 million during 2016 on island, followed by visitors from “Other” countries which included Latin America, Asia, and Africa which spent US $27 million.
