The twin island state of Antigua & Barbuda in the Caribbean saw an impressive double digit visitor growth every month from March to November 2015.

The highest growth months were September with a 36 per cent increase and October with a 27 per cent increase.

This year is set to be another fruitful year for Antigua & Barbuda.

The islands will open up to the nature and hiking markets with walking specialists, Ramblers Worldwide and Exodus, introducing new tours.

To accommodate the growing visitor figures and diversify the accommodation options, building will begin on a number of new hotels to be completed in 2018 including the hotel funded by Robert De Niro’s investment.

Key landmark events for the islands for 2016 include the 60th anniversary of the well-known Antigua Carnival and 35 years of independence.

Jean Marc Flambert, vice president sales and marketing UK & Europe for the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, commented: “As tourism generates about 60 per cent of our islands’ GDP, we are very pleased to see our visitor figures increasing. 

“Last year was a big year for Antigua and Barbuda tourism with new hotels, a brand new airport and development of the sports tourism sector.

“The key contributing factors to this incredible visitor growth can be put down to our close links with the trade and our ‘accessibility’ campaign, which ran in April.

“This focused on encouraging travel during the summer months, as an alternative to European holidays.

“We already have robust forward bookings for 2016 and look forward to another successful year of growth.”