Year-to-Date (Jan-Oct) Stay over visitors’ arrivals & Impact of Regatta Bonaire

Tourism Corporation Bonaire informs

Preliminary results indicate that Bonaire welcomed 13,525 stay-over visitors during the month of October 2023. Year-to-date (Jan-Oct), Bonaire welcomed a total of 139,490 stayover visitors in 2023, outpacing the figures for the same period in 2019 (130,300) and 2022 (137,500).

The Bonaire Regatta Festival played a significant role in October, attracting visitors, particularly from our sister islands. Compared to the previous year in 2022, Bonaire received 1,844 visitors from Curaçao and 281 visitors from Aruba, while this year, 2023, 2,702 visitors were welcomed from Curaçao and 380 visitors from Aruba, indicating a growing interest in the Regatta Festival and its influential role in attracting visitors from neighboring islands.

In October 2019, Bonaire welcomed 12,200 visitors, a noticeable increase in October 2023.
However, it’s worth noting that in October 2022, Bonaire welcomed 14,310 stayover visitors. This spike in October 2022 was directly influenced by the additional flight capacity provided by American Airlines (with three flights a week) and KLM’s 777 aircraft. TCB managed to reintroduce this additional seat capacity in November 2023 to offset the recent decline in air seat availability in September and October 2023.

The Netherlands and the United States are Bonaire’s top two source markets for visitors, both stable. In September 2023, 2,260 visitors from the United States made up 16.72% of the total stayover visitors, with 6,384 visitors from the Netherlands making up 47.24% of the total. Notably, visitors from Curaçao played a pivotal role in Bonaire’s tourism, contributing 2,702 visitors, or 19.98%, while Aruba added 380 visitors, comprising 2.81% of the total.

In addition to our primary source markets, Bonaire’s tourism performance is further bolstered by visitors from Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, Colombia, and Switzerland. Germany emerged as a strong market in October 2023, with 334 stayover visitors, securing a place on the list of top-performing markets for the month of October. Regarding visitor demographics, the most common age group is 45 to 54.

A closer look at the US market shows that the states of Florida, California, Texas, New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and New Jersey were the main sources of visitors. For Dutch visitors, the main regions of origin included the South Netherlands, North Netherlands, and North Brabant. Furthermore, Bonaire welcomed 14,447 cruise visitors in September of 2023.

For more detailed statistics and information about Bonaire’s tourism performance, please visit our official website at www.bonaireisland.com or reach out to us via email at info@bonaireisland.com.