The Curacao Tourist Board has realised exceptional growth in stayover tourist arrivals for September 2023. For the month, there were 45,952 stayover arrivals which is a 23% growth over projections. For further comparison, the stayover arrivals for September 2022 were 37,230.
Additionally, year-to-date figures are also impressive and reveal increases over 2022 figures for the same period. At the end of September 2022, the island reported 355,662 stayover arrivals. Comparatively, at the end of September 2023, Curacao recorded 419,020 stayover arrivals. This represents an 18% increase over last year.
Deeper analysis of the figures reveals that there has been growth in the Brazil and United States markets. There were 3,079 visitors from Brazil, which represents a 200% increase over September last year. This can be attributed to consistent airlift between Curacao and Brazil. Azul Airlines has a once weekly direct service between Curacao and Belo Horizonte, and there are connections via Panama and Bogota, Columbia.
The arrivals from the United States of America were 10,497, which is a 31% increase over September 2022. And, for the first time in history, Curacao has welcomed over one hundred thousand visitors from the USA. For the first nine months of 2023, there were 104,772 visitors from the USA. The Curacao Tourist Board expects to see good numbers for the rest of the year, which will contribute to a record year for the island.
Booking.comStatistics were also compiled for accommodation, the average nights on island and demographics. In September, visitors stayed an average of 8.3 nights; 57% of all visitors stayed in resort hotels and most visitors were between 25 and 44 years old (45%) and 45 and 64 years old (33%).
September is typically a slow month for tourist arrivals in Curacao, so the growth in stayover tourist arrival has surpassed expectations. These figures are encouraging for the island because they show that it can attract visitors throughout the year and further establish itself as a year-round destination.
Source: Exceptional September 2023 Growth (Curacao Tourist Board)
Image: Curacao Tourist Board
