The first-ever Global Antigua and Barbuda Black Pineapple Awards — a spectacular initiative that honors and celebrates the outstanding achievements of hard-working travel agents from around the world is set to take place from December 5th to 9th, 2024, in Antigua and Barbuda.  The event, organized by the Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Tourism and the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, will bring together over 100 of the destination’s top-producing travel professionals for an exclusive celebration in the stunning twin-island paradise.   Named after the unique and delicious Antigua Black Pineapple — Antigua’s most famous and sweetest fruit, found only on this stunning Caribbean Island, these awards symbolize the country’s commitment to excellence, luxury, and the recognition of the pivotal role travel agents play in promoting Antigua and Barbuda as a must-visit destination.   The Hon. Charles Fernandez, Minister of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda said, "We are incredibly proud to host the inaugural Antigua and Barbuda Black Pineapple Awards this December. The Awards are not just another industry event; they are a prestigious celebration of the incredible work done by our global travel partners. It will be the perfect way to say a heartfelt thank you to the agents who are the backbone of our industry. I can't wait to welcome and celebrate with the one hundred outstanding agents here in Antigua and Barbuda as we honor their dedication and commitment.”   Who Can Enter: The awards are open to all USA, UK & Europe, Canada, Caribbean and Latin American travel agents, including homebased and store-front agents who have booked Antigua and Barbuda hotel packages from October 01, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Agents can log their bookings on www.AntiguaBarbudaRewards.com to secure their chance to join the winner’s circle.   Colin C. James, CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority in recognizing the performance of the travel trade said, “This year has been an extraordinary one for Antigua and Barbuda, with record-breaking tourism arrivals. This success is a testament to the relentless efforts of our teams and partners in each of our key markets, who have delivered exceptional service, and this event is all about celebrating their remarkable achievements.”   This exclusive event will culminate in a Black-tie Gala on December 7th, an evening of sophistication and glamour where VIPs, industry leaders, and honored guests will come together to celebrate excellence in travel. The gala promises to be the highlight of the weekend, featuring vibrant entertainment, authentic flavors, and, of course, the awards ceremony where the best of the best will be recognized.   During the Antigua and Barbuda Black Pineapple Awards weekend, attendees can look forward to a luxury island tour, a private catamaran cruise with snorkeling, beachfront yoga sessions, and a glamorous black-tie gala dinner.   Get Involved: This is your opportunity to be part of something extraordinary. The Antigua and Barbuda Black Pineapple Awards promise to be an event with the winners not only receiving recognition but also gaining an insider’s perspective on the charm and allure of Antigua and Barbuda. There’s no better time to showcase your success in selling this stunning destination.   Mark your calendars and start logging your bookings. The road to Antigua and Barbuda’s Black Pineapple Awards begins now, and it’s set to be a journey filled with excitement and the sweetest rewards.   Important Note: Visit  www.AntiguaBarbudaRewards.com  right away to REGISTER your bookings (you must have completed the *NEW* Specialist Training Course to access the Rewards Program: www.AntiguaBarbudaTravelAgents.com). Sign up for a 'New Account' to access the Specialist course, as your old username and password will not work with this new program. All valid bookings must be registered by October 21, 2024, then save the event date and await your selection and invitation. All selected advisors will receive an all-expense paid trip to Antigua for the Black Pineapple Awards.

Twin-island destination Antigua and Barbuda announced travelers no longer needed to show proof of vaccination or a negative test when entering the country. It applies to air travel and those arriving by sea. Mask wearing is no longer mandatory but still ’actively encouraged.’ The same applies to social distancing. It Caribbean neighbors like Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Grenada in removing all remaining Covid-19 protocols. Antigua and Barbuda have recovered strongly with an all-time-high for visitor arrivals in July.

Antigua and Barbuda's steady tourism rebound continued as stayover tourism arrivals for July 2022 topped the July 2019 pre-pandemic record. The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Tourism reported a rise in arrivals of 7% for July against benchmark year 2019. During the month, Antigua and Barbuda welcomed 24,673 visitors to the destination, an increase over 2021's 23,405 and the 2019 record of 23,031. Antigua and Barbuda's Minister of Tourism The Honourable Charles Fernandez said, "For a second year, we are experiencing a healthy summer season as consumer travel confidence grows.” “One group from the US, brought in approximately five hundred visitors travelling to enjoy our summer events.  We are optimistic that we will maintain this strong position of growth into August." An influx of visitors from the US contributed to the increase with arrivals 30% higher than in July 2019. There was also growth within the UK market, with an increase of 5% in tourism arrivals for the month over 2019. Arrivals stood at 5,650 in comparison to the 5,378 in 2019. Arrivals from Canada grew by 1% while the intra-Caribbean market saw a decline of 19%. The Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association reported occupancies of 63% across a sample of their hotel members. The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is attributing the 7% growth in air arrivals for the month July 2022, when compared to July 2019, to increased airlift, aggressive destination marketing, and easier travel protocols. CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James said: "Antigua and Barbuda is presently listed amongst the top ten Caribbean destinations leading the Caribbean tourism recovery efforts.” "Antigua and Barbuda's tourism rebound prospects are looking positive, particularly when we consider global tourism forecasts.”      

It is more than fifteen years since I last visited Antigua. My main memories were of the water, sailing around the island and diving into the crystal blue seas. Despite enjoying a wonderful holiday, I’m afraid I remember very little about the people I met, I struggled to engage with them, and I’m ashamed to say that I failed to get under the skin of the history, heritage or culture. Returning for travel trade event, Showcase Antigua and Barbuda this year, I experienced a very real change. Everywhere I went, the people of the islands were friendly, interested, helpful and frankly, delighted to see me. Is this a simple reaction to the shock of Covid? Or does this change run more deeply? Has there been a slow but acute transformation going on? The Minister of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez, has held the position since 2018. He is obsessive about inclusion and collaboration. In his view, it is the responsibility of every single member of the population to support tourism to the islands. He recognised the experience of the visitor goes way beyond interactions within the controlled environments of hotels and restaurants, seeping through to airport security, retail transactions, taxi drivers and interactions with everyone from policeman to postmaster. These small interactions are what drive repeat visitation, and create the ‘brand ambassadors’ he speaks of who will tell their friends to consider Antigua and Barbuda for their post pandemic dream holiday. He understands that the devil is in the detail and that, to make his vision a reality, all Antiguans and Barbudans need to commit to the common cause. It doesn’t matter if you don’t work directly in tourism. Your economic future is tied up in the tourism industry and it is in everyone’s interest to make it work. With this in mind, Minister Fernandez has engaged people from across the population in his 10 year plan (Vision 2032) to bring Antigua and Barbuda out of the pandemic stronger than it went in. The competitive advantage gained by being the first Caribbean destination to open to international visitors will have taken market share from its neighbours for last year, but the challenge remains to keep pushing to maintain that advantage. There are big plans, innovative plans, to achieve this. The return of Showcase, the first such event to be held in the Caribbean since the pandemic, is an initial, but highly symbolic step in Antigua and Barbuda’s ambition to position itself as a leader within the region. Other initiatives include marketing June 2022 as ‘Romance Month’, offering, among other things, a fast track immigration lane for couples at the airport. There are big plans for events this year, with the return of Carnival this summer and a month long celebration of Antiguan music throughout October, leading up to Independence Day on 1^st November. There is a priority to restore airlift back to 2019 levels and 5,000 people have been trained in the new health and safety protocols. Shining a light on Barbuda Probably the most interesting ambition is to really get behind Antigua’s smaller neighbour, Barbuda, to encourage visitation to this largely untouched destination. As Mr Colin James, the CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority told me, ‘Barbuda will become the new St Barts’. The first Nobu restaurant in the Caribbean has opened in Barbuda and Robert de Niro is investing heavily in the island with plans for a Nobu Beach Inn. Other luxury resorts will follow. The tourist board has turned the lack of infrastructure into a marketing message ‘We have one ferry, two flights and ten taxis. We’d love you to come, but please, not all at once.’ It's an ambitious goal. I went to Barbuda and it has the potential to be something incredible. The beaches are simply exquisite, the true pink sand and crystal turquoise sea of the advertising images.  For now, there really is very little there. Just 1,500 people lived on Barbuda before the development projects started. Now the number has jumped to 2,500. There is one bank, one petrol station, few shops, few places to eat. And the impact of the 2017 Hurricane Irma, which devastated the island, is still visible throughout the coconut plantations. There is a lot to do. However, I don’t doubt that the plans for luxury hotels and a new infrastructure will be completed. The bigger challenge for the government will be bringing this tiny island community with them, engaging them to embrace a very different future. Because, no matter how beautiful the beach, how clear the water, or how exclusive the hotel, the perfect holiday experience relies on the best service, delivered authentically by the people who know the destination. And that means Minister Fernandez will need to be listening very carefully to the community. Because his success in transforming Barbuda from simple island to luxury travel destination relies on its people.

  With the ambition to increase awareness of Barbuda and to promote more visits to the island, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) has partnered with the Barbuda Council and UK creative agency Motel on the first ever campaign to promote Barbuda.   Antigua’s sister island, Barbuda despite being famous for its endless pink sand beaches, has virtually been untouched by tourism. That's not without good reason. With a much smaller population (only 1,500 people) than Antigua, you can currently only get to Barbuda by boat, helicopter or in a tiny eight-seater plane.   With the limit on the number of visitors that can be accommodated at any one time, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority’s launch campaign with the Barbuda Council and Motel, aims to position Barbuda as an off the beaten track island escape, but unlike your usual tourism advertising, this campaign doesn't plead with customers to visit.   The iconic pink sand eleven mile, Luis Beach is the stunning setting at the heart of the campaign.  Given there is only “one ferry, two flights and ten taxis”, viewers of the advertising are encouraged to come and visit, “but please, not all at once.”   The Country’s Tourism Minister The Honourable Charles “Max” Fernandez has endorsed the creative approach that the new campaign has adopted to bring the international spotlight on Barbuda: “This campaign cleverly helps manage expectations because if interested travellers can’t book a flight or room, they will understand exactly why. More than that, we hope that this idyllic campaign truly captures the uniqueness and warmth of the local Barbudan community and is in keeping with our strategy to show the world the unsurpassed beauty of the sister island.”   Colin C. James, Chief Executive Officer at the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority comments: “We have spent many years marketing Barbuda as part of the overall Antigua and Barbuda package.  Barbuda is a special place in its own right and has an increasing number of unique things to offer. Motel’s understanding of both how to create impactful, memorable advertising along with their knowledge of Barbuda as a destination and what makes it so unique, made them the perfect agency to work on our brief.”   Shot on location in Barbuda by local photographer Mohammid Walbrook and Motel Creative Director David Boynes, the campaign will be running across Press (in titles including Condé Nast Traveller and Wanderlust), DOOH, Social and travel media such as TripAdvisor in the key ABTA markets UK, US and Canada from March 21, 2022.   Calsey Joseph, Tourism & Culture Chairperson within the Barbuda Council says, "We anticipate that Barbuda will be marketed at its peak throughout this campaign. Barbuda offers many opportunities for the perfect getaway - a chance to enjoy nature, the pink sandy beaches, the weather and our popularly known seafood cuisines. Barbuda, we live it...you'll love it."   In the campaign’s two aerial films, shot by a drone, you can see the silhouette of the tiny passenger plane flying above the water across the eleven miles of Luis Beach. This is accompanied by the gentle background sound of lapping waves, and the national bird the majestic Frigate, interrupted only by the gentle hum of the light aircraft overhead. Barbuda is home to the largest Frigate Bird Colony in the western hemisphere, with over 100,000 birds living there. You can only visit this sanctuary by boat with a tour guide, which only adds to the Island's exclusivity and charm.   Rob Smith, Founder and CEO at Motel adds, “Antigua and Barbuda are both very special islands. There is a particular magic to Barbuda though, which you feel as soon as you touch down. We are incredibly privileged to have been trusted with the brief to create the island's first-ever campaign”.   The last 5 years have been a period of rebuilding following the devastation on the island as a result of Hurricane Irma. Alongside previously popular hotspots such as ‘Uncle Roddy's’, the development of the Barbuda Ocean Club is nearing completion, there is a Nobu restaurant on Princess Diana Beach and the island has its first eco-hotel which can only be reached by boat (Barbuda Belle).

  The Caribbean twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has as of March 16, 2022, lifted the travel testing requirement for fully vaccinated visitors to the destination.   Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Tourism and Investment, The Honourable Charles Fernandez said, “Our aim is to continue to ensure travellers have a safe vacation in Antigua and Barbuda, in adherence with the covid-19 protocols created by the Government to responsibly manage the various stages of the pandemic and maintain the health and safety of the population.”   CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority said, “The announcement of the removal of the travel testing requirement, will reduce travel costs and prove to be a compelling enough incentive for fully vaccinated visitors to book travel to the destination. It is a development that will make a positive impact on our tourism rebound, and most importantly to the persons who are employed within the industry.”   Antigua and Barbuda’s latest travel advisory as outlined by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda includes:  

1. Fully vaccinated arriving passengers are not required to present a PCR/Rapid Antigen Test negative result to be permitted entry into Antigua and Barbuda, (unless they show symptoms of possible infection). This includes transiting passengers.
2. Fully vaccinated passengers showing symptoms of possible infection may be required to submit to a RT PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 upon arrival at their own expense. Instructions on permissible activities while awaiting results will be provided by Port Health officials.
3. Partially/unvaccinated British citizens en route to, and partially/unvaccinated residents of, Montserrat are permitted to land in Antigua and Barbuda and transit via aeroplane from V.C. Bird International Airport to Montserrat. Such passengers will not be permitted to leave the airport prior to departure.
4. Unvaccinated minors between the ages of five and eighteen years old must present a negative RT PCR test of four days or fewer from date of testing.
5. Children below the age of five (5) years entering Antigua and Barbuda, DO NOT REQUIRE a COVID -19 RT-PCR test.
6. The wearing of face masks in public spaces is actively encouraged throughout Antigua and Barbuda and social/physical distancing protocols should still be adhered to. Therefore, all passengers arriving in Antigua and Barbuda are encouraged to wear face masks wherever there are gatherings of significant numbers of people e.g., ports, supermarkets, bars and clubs.

  Antigua and Barbuda is fully open, and visitors to the destination can expect to enjoy a range of excursions, attractions and dining experiences, to include newly opened restaurants and tours. Beaches are open and all curfew restrictions have been removed.