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The new presidency of the Comité du Tourisme has revised several factors in order to establish its annual report within the framework of the Observatoire du Tourisme. The result is a 59-page report offering a clearer vision of the island's situation at the end of the 2023-2024 season. In particular, the periodicity of observation has been changed to cover the period from September to August. The document will be published on the Committee's website, making it accessible to all. For CTTSB president Alexandra Questel, this transparency is essential. "We wanted to give more structure and substance to this observatory," insists the woman who holds a seat on the local council.
Air traffic, port traffic in all its forms (yachting, cruising, inter-island), customer surveys, trends in online searches, analysis of the accommodation offer and the performance of theThe Observatory's report could not be more comprehensive. Even if, as the President of the Comité du tourisme assures us, further adjustments will enable us to provide it with greater analytical depth in future editions.
A loyal clientele
While the JSB took a long look at the 2024 results for the port (JSB 1600 and 1601) and the airport (JSB 1598), the observatory provides essential data for understanding Saint-Barthélemy's tourism environment. It comes as no surprise that 55.8% of our customers come from the United States, followed by France (16%), the rest of Europe (12.6%) and the Americas (10%). The peak for American customers was in March (73% of visitors), while the French were most numerous in August (47%). 56.1% of visitors are families, 20.8% are couples, 15.4% are groups of friends, and 7.7% are singles. It should be noted that while the European market is in slight decline, customers from Brazil remain stable (5.8% of visitors).
In terms of rental accommodation, villas are the preferred choice (45.3%), ahead of hotels (32%), family and friends (16%) and Airbnb (6.6%). For the record, the island has 26 hotels and 1,113 registered villas. The report highlights the fact that the hotel occupancy rate fell slightly in 2023-2024 to 64.6% from 68.1% the previous year. This figure is based on a sample of hotels surveyed, according to the report, which stresses that no individual figures will be disclosed.
The 1,113 villas registered with the Collectivité provide 4,572 rooms for a total capacity of 6,484 people. The majority of villas can accommodate between four and six guests, according to data collected by the Observatory from the Collectivité. This represents 60.4% of all rentals. In fact, there are 280 four-person villas, compared with 185 two-person villas. The larger infrastructures are obviously less numerous: 84 declarations for ten visitors, 43 for twelve people and 15 for as many guests. The average villa has 4.2 rooms.
As for the island's 65 restaurants, the satisfaction rate recorded by the Observatory is high. 66.8% of guests surveyed rated the dining experience as "excellent", while 20.4% found it "generally positive", 4.5% average and 7.3% disappointing. Restaurants have an average of 16 employees, 73% of whom are housed, "particularly in the larger establishments", says the report.
Major spin-offs from luxury goods
"Imported luxury goods are a key indicator of the economic benefits generated by tourism", the Observatory points out. In 2023, these luxury goods (declared at customs) were worth almost 34.8 million euros for watches, over 19 million for jewelry and 8 million for ready-to-wear. According to the report, 2023 was a record year in this sector for Saint-Barth. In that year, they generated more than 3.8 million euros in revenue for the Collectivité territoriale, thanks to the taxes collected.
In the same vein, it should be noted that revenue from tourist tax collection in 2023-2024 exceeded 15.6 million euros for the Collectivité territoriale. With the following breakdown: 57.5% for hotels and 42.5% for villas. Tourist tax revenues have been rising steadily since 2019, with the exception of 2020, which was disrupted by the Covid health crisis.
"All these elements are designed to reassure the tourism market," explains the CTTSB president. This observatory is a strategic tool to guide tourism policies", insists Alexandra Questel, who underlines the main trend to emerge from the report: Saint-Barthélemy has never had so many visitors.
