by Brian Major
Last updated: 12:10 PM ET, Thu May 8, 2025
The British
Virgin Islands (BVI) reported a 6.4 percent year-over-year increase in overnight
visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2025, with a total of 106,750
overnight, land-based visitor arrivals during the period.
The increased
land-visitor totals territory’s increased first-quarter arrivals include 40,569
guests in March, the first time since 2017 the BVI’s monthly overnight arrivals
have surpassed the 40,000 travelers, according to data from the Central
Statistics Office, the Government of the Virgin Islands’ official statistical
authority.
The territory also posted a 60 percent year-over-year surge in
day-trip visitors, with 5,799 during the first quarter of 2025, reflecting “the
growing appeal of the BVI as a preferred Caribbean destination for both
short-term and extended stays,” according to BVI Tourist Board & Film
Commission (BVITBFC) officials.
Conversely, the
territory’s cruise visitor arrivals declined by 2.5 percent year-over-year
during the first quarter of 2025, said BVITBFC officials. As a result, the territory’s
total arrivals (including land-based, cruise and day-trip visitors) declined 0.25
percent year-over-year compared with 2024.
“Overnight
stays are a key indicator of the health of our tourism industry, benefiting
both land-based and marine accommodations,” said Clive McCoy, the BVI’s director
of tourism, “and driving economic activity across the territory.”
McCoy credited “strategic
promotions, improved infrastructure, and a renewed focus on guest experience”
as responsible for the increased first-quarter land-based visitor arrivals.
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