TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands (CMC) — British Virgin Islands Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has reported a 13.8 per cent increase in tourist arrivals for the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

“We just had our second quarter numbers, which came out, which are very good. And I’ll just give them quickly for persons. 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,” Wheatley stated during a recent Virgin Islands Voice broadcast.

Breaking down the Q2 figures, he noted significant gains across most categories.

“We have the day trippers at 5,865 versus 4,030 last year. So that’s a 45.5 per cent increase on last year,” he said.

Overnight stays experienced a slight decline, with 84,339 visitors compared to 84,974 in 2024 — a decrease of less than one per cent. However, cruise passenger arrivals surged.

“We had a 25.2 per cent increase on last year with 120,889 cruise passengers versus 96,554 in 2024,” he reported.

For the first half of 2025, total tourist arrivals reached 707,418, representing a 3.6 per cent increase over the 683,114 recorded in the same period in 2024.

“Day trippers, we’re up from last year, 11,664 versus last year 7,653. That’s a 52.4 per cent increase in our day trippers,” he stated. Overnight tourist arrivals also grew modestly: “191,089 tourist arrivals for overnight versus 185,293 tourist arrivals last year. And that’s an increase on our overnight numbers of 3.1 per cent in the first half.”

Cruise arrivals also rose to 504,665 from 490,168 last year. Premier Wheatley also emphasised the economic importance of tourism.

“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. So let’s all do our part to keep tourism going strongly,” he urged.

Tourism remains a key economic driver for the British Virgin Islands, and officials say ongoing promotional efforts and partnerships with regional suppliers aim to keep the industry competitive.

Wheatley is expected to provide further updates on the government’s tourism strategy during a press conference scheduled for Friday.