Turks & Caicos welcome almost 1M visitors in the first half of 2024

The Turks and Caicos Islands welcomed close to a million air and cruise arrivals in the first six months of 2024.

The multi-island destination received 998,854 visitors from January to June, including 408,749 air arrivals, an increase of 13.64 per cent over the same period in 2023, and 590,105 cruise passengers, 19.45 per cent more than in the first six months of last year.

June saw the largest year-on-year increase for air arrivals, with 72,009 visitors arriving by plane in the month, an increase of 28.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Though cruise numbers started out in a deficit in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023 figures, they have picked up tremendously between April and June.

June cruise passenger numbers were the highest for the year so far, with 110,504 visitors from 24 cruise calls. This marks a whopping 82.65 per cent increase over the same month in 2023.

Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Josephine Connolly, said the growing number of visitors to the Turks and Caicos Islands is testimony to the strength of the country’s brand.

“The Turks and Caicos Islands continue to be the premium class destination of choice in the Caribbean for our market,” she said. “From our award-winning beautiful beaches to our world-class luxury resorts, we continue to deliver! Data shows that this trend will continue into the winter season and I am very excited about the new American Airlines flight into South Caicos in February, which will open up our multi-island destination to even more visitors and spend for our industry.”

American Airlines will operate a twice-weekly flight into the Norman B Saunders Airport in South Caicos starting Feb. 15, 2025, which coincides with the opening of the island’s newest hotel, the Salterra Resort and Spa.

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today! Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.