MONTREAL — Representatives of the Anguilla Tourism Board were on a Canadian tour last week to promote the popularity of this pretty little Caribbean island.

“What, you’ve never been to Anguilla? But what are you doing with your lives?” joked ATB Director, Stacey Liburd, to Montreal media at a lunch event last Friday.

The Jamaica native, who grew up and lived in New York, knows what she’s talking about. She herself made the choice, one day, to adopt the island’s recent slogan – ‘Lose the Crowd, Find Yourself’ – by moving to Anguilla.

A QUIET LITTLE ISLAND

Certainly compared to the Big Apple, the small British overseas territory of Anguilla is particularly peaceful. At just 26 km long and populated by barely 15,000 souls, the island has fewer than 4,000 beds and does not receive large cruise ships (only smaller vessels, Silversea for example) and makes it a point of honor to focus on sustainable tourism and ecotourism.

There’s no mass tourism here, no congestion of visitors who suddenly arrive in the thousands, no all-inclusives or American fast food chains. The largest hotel (The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla) has less than 400 rooms, and the island has a total of five traffic lights.

“In addition, Anguilla does not have private beaches, and hotels that occupy part of the coastline must provide public access,” said Liburd. Anguilla is also renowned for its fine gastronomy, its diving sites and its idyllic beaches, sometimes tinged pink due to the presence of finely pulverized shells interspersed with the sand.

“I like to say that this island is exclusively yours,” said Kohn Richardson, international markets coordinator at the ATB. Richardson said Anguilla wants to attract more Canadians – as evidenced by the promotional tour in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec.

FROM LUXURY TO MICE

Luxury tourism is a key segment for Anguilla, with several high-end establishments dotting the island, including Malliouhana Resort, the best hotel in Anguilla according to Forbes and one of the 500 best hotels in the world according to Travel + Leisure. Malliouhana will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2025 with a series of events, including gastronomic offerings.

Other hotels stand out, such as Tranquility Beach Anguilla, which received the Traveller’s Choice Award from TripAdvisor for the third consecutive year, and whose Mead’s Bay beach was recognized as the third best in the world by the readers of USA Today.

“But increasingly, we also want to develop conference, event and meeting tourism as well as incentive travel,” said Liburd.

A RECORD YEAR

At the start of the year, from January to May, Anguilla received 98,052 visitors, including 57,165 for extended stays. Growth in arrivals continues to be led by the island’s two largest source markets, the U.S. and Canada (4% of arrivals in the latter case).

Liburd said increased accessibility and stronger air connections have been key to Anguilla’s success in 2024, with American Airlines adding a third weekly flight from Miami.

Several other flights provide access to Anguilla from the D.R., Puerto Rico, St. Barths, Antigua and Saint Martin, located 20 minutes by boat. Finally, private charter flights also supply the island with visitors.

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

In 2025, several new developments and projects will see the light of day in Anguilla, including …

• The start of work on a new passenger terminal at the airport and a runway extension project, allowing Anguilla to accommodate Code C type aircraft (such as the Boeing 737 Max 8). Razed by a hurricane in 2017, the airport has been completely rebuilt and is already very modern
• The start of construction of two new luxury yacht marinas: Altamer and Savannah Bay Marina and Resort
• The opening of Ani Private Resorts, a 15-suite establishment in Shoal Bay

UPCOMING EVENTS

The year 2025 also promises to be significant for events and new tourism programs.

Beyond the return of the Anguilla Summer Festival, the Del Mar Gastronomic Festival, the Anguilla Culinary Experience (ACE) – where award-winning chefs like Yannick Rochat from Raffles in London will be present – there’s also the legendary Moonsplash Musical Festival and the World Music Tourism Congress taking place in Anguilla in 2025.

Additionally, the destination will offer expanded voluntourism programs, to provide visitors with the opportunity to give back to the community and support Anguilla’s goal of becoming the most sustainable island in the Caribbean basin.

For more destination information see ivisitanguilla.com.

This article originally ran at ProfessionVoyages.com, part of The Travelweek Group