ANTIGUA and Barbuda recorded a slight fall in UK visitor numbers in 1998, despite a huge surge in tourism in November and December.
In 1998, arrivals were 57,500, compared with 57,737 the previous year.
An Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office spokeswoman said the figures had been affected by competition from low-priced Far East destinations, and the impact of Hurricane Georges at the end of September.
However, there was a boom in visitors at the end of the year. UK arrivals rose by 57% to 6,676 in November and by 46.5% to 7,004 in December.
The spokeswoman claimed this was due to a combination of factors, including a swift recovery from the hurricane and the introduction of two weekly flights by Virgin Atlantic in October.
“Some of the tour operators had special deals on, and all the hotels were full over Christmas,” she added.