BTA Release 2021 Visitor Arrivals Report
The BTA released the 2021 Visitor Arrivals Report — which showed that total leisure air visitors were down 71.2% compared to 2019 — and said that while there is “reason for optimism,” the ”stark reality is that a return to 2019 levels is not expected for the next few years.”
A spokesperson said, “The 2021 End of Year Tourism Measures report released today by the Bermuda Tourism Authority outlined the impact of two years of global disruption on the island’s tourism industry.
“Although there was significant upward movement from 2020, the 2021 Year-end statistics highlighted stark declines on crucial metrics compared to 2019 baseline figures. With the rollout of vaccines in early 2021, the travel industry felt the first ripples of a comeback.
“Bermuda’s tourism sector stood ready to return to business but faced several Covid-induced setbacks, including three local outbreaks that shifted Bermuda onto the CDC Level IV designation in Spring, Summer, and Winter 2021.
“Business travel was hit exceptionally hard, with arrivals plummeting by 87.1% vs 2019 figures, representing a 34% decline even from 2020 numbers. Despite the loss of direct service from some gateways, total air service capacity climbed steadily above 2020 figures but stood 59% below 2019 figures.
- Total leisure air visitors down 71.2% compared to 2019
- Total air capacity down 59.1% compared to 2019
- Total spend by air visitors down to $122.57 million [69.3% less than 2019]
- Cruise Arrivals down 97.6% from 2019
Charles H. Jeffers II, BTA Chief Executive Officer, said, “The stark reality is that a return to 2019 levels is not expected for the next few years. And while the entire industry has endured a challenging environment since 2020, there is reason for optimism, particularly with news of changes to border protocols and growth in the European market.
“Our team has renewed our focus on generating group business opportunities. We’ve positioned ourselves as a smart choice for meeting planners from key markets and have seen a spike in interest in group business for 2022 and beyond. “
The BTA added, “Not everything was gloomy as the sector saw glimmers of hope with increased length of stay alongside greater per person spend by air visitors and an increased volume of superyachts calling on Bermuda.
- Leisure traveller length of stay went up by 27.7% to an average of 6.92 days compared to 2019
- Air leisure visitor spend per person was up 13.9% compared to 2019
- Superyacht calls went up 6.5% compared to 2020* [*Superyacht legislation came into effect in 2020]
“The overall numbers were in line with expectations owed to an interplay of factors from global travel trends to international border restrictions and three local Covid surges with their associated CDC downgrades. Collectively they contributed to a dampening of visitor influx across three seasons.
“Over the past twelve months, a fluid public health situation meant that several high-profile events were postponed, repositioned, or downsized. In fact, the SailGP season opener took place during an outbreak-induced lockdown in April. While the island was still able to support the execution of the Grand Prix competition, public health restrictions meant that the hospitality components were cancelled.
“Reduced SailGP visitor numbers translated to a sharply diminished on-island spend. Nonetheless, SailGP’s infusion into the economy made a welcome impact of $5.7 million. The postponement of WTS Bermuda was a loss necessitated by the devastating impact of the Delta variant-fuelled surge in September. While local outbreaks impacted some events, national travel restrictions limited inbound travel from Canada and the United Kingdom throughout the year.
“Even with the array of challenges, Bermuda’s tourism industry was preparing for the expected rebound with collaborative recruitment and training efforts, property renovations, media relations, community outreach and marketing.
“The Tourism Training and Standards Division initiated several key programmes over the year
- Accessibility Awareness Training to raise the level of understanding to individuals and organisations. The training was piloted with various frontline workers
- Tourism Youth Outreach - CedarBridge High School, The Berkeley Institute et al
- Learn to Earn Hospitality Training programme – BTA, Bermuda College, Department of Workforce Development [DWD], and partner restaurants
- Hotel Recruitment Drive - BTA, BHA, DWD
“As an organisation, we have dedicated significant resources to supporting our industry for recovery through standards and training initiatives to improve customer service, accessibility awareness, as well as help equip hospitality workers with the skills to thrive in the space,” said Tracy Berkeley, Chief Administration Officer at the BTA.
“We collaborated with the Bermuda Hotel Association, Bermuda College and the Department of Workforce Development to hold a recruitment drive that received over 200 applicants for a myriad of available roles for the respective partner hotels’ 2022 season. Now is the time to begin to prepare our workforce for tourism’s rebound and re-establish the exceptional tourism service standards that our visitors are looking for us to provide.”
Charles H. Jeffers added, “This year has tested our agility and resilience as an industry. We continue to collaborate with our stakeholders, hoteliers and island investors while we support initiatives that drive interest and bookings through media initiatives and sales promotions.
“In 2021 we supported tourism entrepreneurs with financial grants and marketing assistance through our Visitor Experience Investment programme. We are focused on plotting a steady road to recovery and the outlook is promising.”
The Visitor Arrivals Report follows below [PDF here]:
Costa Rica is enjoying a record amount of tourists this year.
Sounds interesting , what group activities are we talking about ? Everything mentioned in this article I think was brought in or agreed upon when Kevin Dallas (2 CEO’s ago) was in charge. So what has this new regime brought in?
Also why is BTA focused on training people in hospitality/tourism? What does work force development do? Seems like BTA is making up for the lack of action by a government department yet again. Why are we paying 2 entities to do the same job?
It is needed , but BTA should be focused on marketing the destination. If there is already a govt department supposedly focused on getting the population ready for work, then again why duplicate efforts. To often you see the BTA having to pick up the slack of other govt departments because it needs to get done. Hold these other departments accountable .