The British Virgin Islands recorded a 13.8 percent increase in tourist arrivals during the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley announced during a recent Virgin Islands Voice broadcast.
“We just had our second quarter numbers, which came out, which are very good,” Wheatley said. “In the second quarter, overall, we had 211,093 tourist arrivals. That’s up 13.8 per cent from last year, which was 185,558.”
Premier Wheatley highlighted strong growth in cruise and day-trip arrivals. Cruise passenger arrivals surged by 25.2 percent to 120,889, up from 96,554 in Q2 2024. Day trippers also increased significantly, with 5,865 visitors compared to 4,030 last year — a 45.5 percent rise.
Overnight stays, however, saw a slight dip, with 84,339 visitors compared to 84,974 in the same quarter last year — a marginal decline of less than one percent.
For the first half of 2025, total arrivals reached 707,418 — a 3.6 percent increase over the 683,114 recorded during the same period in 2024. Day trippers led the growth, up 52.4 percent year-over-year. Overnight tourist arrivals also rose 3.1 percent to 191,089, while cruise arrivals increased modestly to 504,665 from 490,168.
“Tourism helps to support employment, support our entrepreneurs and it provides us with tax revenue to do the things that we need to do for the community,” Wheatley said. “So let’s all do our part to keep tourism going strongly.”
Officials say the BVI government is continuing efforts to strengthen tourism through targeted marketing campaigns and partnerships with regional suppliers. Premier Wheatley is expected to share more on the government’s tourism strategy at a press conference scheduled for Friday.
