TOURIST ARRIVALS to Barbados for the first half of this year rose 9.9 per cent higher than in the same period in 2009.
According to figures from the Barbados Statistical Service, a provisional 289 967 visitors came to the island between January and June this year, compared to 263 849 last year.
The greatest increase in arrivals came from Canada, which produced 62 607 tourists. This compares to 37 570 visitors in 2009 and represents a 66.6 per cent increase.
Arrivals from the United States moved up by 22.6 per cent, from 56 945 in 2009 to 69 793 this year.
Meanwhile, 5.5 per cent more visitors from Trinidad and Tobago arrived during the six-month period.
The figures show that while 12 064 came in 2009, 12 727 chose Barbados this year.
However, arrivals from other CARICOM countries declined by 5.4 per cent, from 29 685 for the first half of 2009 to 28 090 during the comparable period this year.
There was a 12.2 per cent decline in the number of tourists from the United Kingdom, with 88 443 arriving for the period under review this year as opposed to 100 704 in 2009.
Declines were also evident in the number of visitors from Germany and other European countries, which saw declines of 6.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.
In addition, cruise passenger arrivals (those who did not permanently disembark in Barbados) amounted to 368 327 in 2010 compared to 347 255 last year – an increase of 6.1 per cent.
However, the number of landed passengers (those who permanently disembarked in Barbados, including direct-transit or transfer passengers, tourists and Barbadian residents) declined by 25.4 per cent. (NB)