Antigua & Barbuda shares 2025 outlook in Toronto

Toronto provided steamy Caribbean type weather during the first official visit to Canada for the Honorable H. Charles Max Fernandez, minister of tourism, civil aviation, transportation and investment for Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday night (August 12th.) 

The event was held at the rooftop bar of Lavelle, where travel media, select travel advisors and travel partners were hosted.

Why Antigua and Barbuda?

And while the weather in Toronto has been hot and humid all summer, we all know that cooler climes are ahead, and travel advisors will be busy booking their clients on warm and sunny destinations this winter.  

As they say in Antigua, “The beach is just the beginning…”

Why should travel advisors be recommending Antigua and Barbuda to Canadians? 

“The welcoming people are the friendliest people on the planet,” said Fernandez. “Then there’s the beaches, the cultures, the safety.”

The Minister was in town to speak about the development that is taking place in Antigua and Barbuda, as well as the growing numbers of travellers who are discovering this archipelagic country.  

The Canadian Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Office in Toronto, Tameka Wharton, Kyle Christian and Matara Richardson, were thanked by the minister for their hard work in promoting the country across Canada with events and activations, including a series of advertisements in Toronto’s well travelled P.A.T.H. 

Antigua is proud of promoting their 365 beaches (one for every day of the year), and there are now more ways than ever to get to those beaches. 

Along with a beach for every day, there seems to be a festival for every month. 

“It’s always a good time to go to Antigua” said Fernandez in his interview with PAX. 

From Sailing Week (April), Culinary Month (May) to Carnival (July/August)  and J’ouvert (August) and Art Week (November).

Tourism growth and infrastructure investment

A fifth cruise pier is being built to accommodate Oasis-class cruise ships, with expected project completion date in June, 2026. 

2025 is predicted to be a record breaking for the number of cruise passengers building on the 825,526 passengers who arrived at the Antigua Cruise Port in 2024 (23% increase over 2023). 

This represented 570 cruise ship calls, up from 446 in 2023, at +27%.

In 2024, the country welcomed over 330,000 stay over air visitors, surpassing pre-Covid benchmarks and setting a new tourism record. 

For 2025 they are forecasting a total exceeding 1.1million tourists.

The multi-million dollar runway rehabilitation and expansion of V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua will also allow for larger aircraft and increased traffic.

In Barbuda, the International airport is now fully serviced ready to receive direct flights from private jets with plans to accommodate small commercial passenger aircraft. 

Visitors can also take a ferry (approximately two hours) or helicopter (20 minutes) from Antigua to get to this famous pink sand island.  

Barbuda is growing, with the continued build out of the Barbuda Ocean Club and Nobu resort, as well as the Barbudan owned and operated Barbuda Bell and Barbuda Cottages, now in development.

Minister Fernandez is proud of their conservation focused tourism practices and in 2022 Antigua and Barbuda was welcomed as a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.  

Easy sell for Canadians

“The MICE market is really booming for us”, said Colin James, the CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority. 

“We are going after that market in a big way.” Antigua hosted the 2025 CHTA Travel Market conference in May, which PAX was in attendance for. 

He emphasized the importance of tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, noting that it makes up 65% of their GDP. 

“While other Caribbean Islands are running for their dinner, we are running for our lives,” he said, most notably during the pandemic, when they lost 25% of their GDP due to the loss of tourism dollars. 

“So many people in Antigua and Barbuda depend on what you do”, he said, addressing the trade media and travel advisors present at the event. 

“Canadians looking for a Caribbean destination where you can guarantee sunshine, where you can relax on 365 beaches, both on pink and white sand, it has to be Antigua Barbuda.” he said. 

“One of our beaches in Barbuda is 17 miles of unbroken sand. This  is a destination that will cause to rejuvenate, relax, you can get to in  four and half hours from Toronto. We like to say that you’re up at six  in the morning and by two in the afternoon we can have you on some a white sandy beach in Antigua. It’s easy to get to, served by the two major carriers of Canada, Air Canada and WestJet, and Canadians love Antigua and Barbuda. And we love Canadians.” said James, in a sit down interview with PAX.

“Tourism is all about relationships,” summarized James, as he announced that they would be hosting the second annual Black Pineapple Awards in December 2025. 

Top 100 sellers globally (from Canada, the U.S., Caribbean and the U.K.) would be rewarded with an all expenses paid trip to Antigua.

“Antigua is an easy sell for Canadians,” said James. 

“It’s like selling a snowplow in the winter. It’s something that you really need.”

Antiguan born singer-songwriter Drastic (a 2024 Canada’s Got Talent performer) sang for an appreciative crowd, after admitting he hoped his song, which he had heard in his head from childhood, would become a native Antiguan song in promoting his country of birth.

As their hashtag says, Antigua is #WhatCoolLooksLike

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