Bonaire Tourism Half year performance review, Surpassing last year and Pre-Pandemic Levels in the First Half of 2023

How was the first six months of 2023 vs 2022?

Bonaire has demonstrated exceptional resilience and growth in its tourism sector during the first six months of 2023vs 2022. Despite the challenges faced, Bonaire proudly welcomed a total of 88,749 visitors year to date (YTD), surpassing the numbers recorded in both 2022 (85,8k visitors) and 2019 (83,1k visitors) for the same period. Period January – June 2023. This represents an increase of approximately 6.8% from 2019 to 2023, and an increase of 3.3% from 2022 to 2023.

January set an impressive pace with 16,495 visitors, closely followed by February with 16,147 visitors. March maintained the positive trend, recording 16,450 visitors. While April experienced a slight dip with 15,513 visitors, May and June saw 12,622 and 11,522 visitors.

Bonaire’s visitor composition reflected a diverse array of nationalities. The Netherlands emerged as the leading source market, contributing a significant 46.47% of the total visitors. The United States closely followed, accounting for 24.05% of visitors, while Curaçao 13.4% of the total visitors. Other countries, including Aruba, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Colombia, Canada and the United Kingdom, collectively formed the remaining percentage of the top 10 source markets.

The data revealed a captivating blend of first-time visitors and loyal returnees. Approximately 40% of the visitors were newcomers. Impressively, 25% of visitors had previously visited the island between two and five times.

Among the American visitors, several states stood out as major contributors to Bonaire’s tourism. Florida, New York, California, Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts and Georgia emerged as the top 10 states from which American visitors originated. Most Dutch visitors visited from the north and south regions of the Netherlands.

Furthermore, Bonaire’s visitors age groups, the majority of visitors falling within the 45 to 64 age range.

The cruise industry also contributed to Bonaire’s tourism landscape, with several ships visiting the island during the first half of 2023. In January, 28 cruise ships welcomed a total of 70,256 passengers, followed by 29 cruise ships in February with 74,863 passengers, and 29 cruise ships in March with 67,625 passengers. April saw 16 cruise ships with 41,465 passengers, In May, 6 cruise ships with 21,493 passengers.  while June will be updated soon and the upcoming cruise season will be updated on the website www.bonaire.portcall.com.

For more detailed information and statistics, please contact us at marketing@bonaireisland.com and visit www.bonaireisland.com.