British Airways Holidays were up 85% for the last week of June while Kenwood Travel saw a bookings increase of 33% during the same period. Furthermore, Kuoni has reported a sharp increase in Antigua honeymoon enquires over the past month.

The marketing campaign, which promotes Antigua’s offerings beyond the beach, was timed to encourage bookings for late summer holidays.

Interest in Antigua and Barbuda was further consolidated by professional footballer Lionel Messi’s recent honeymoon in Antigua and from Prince Harry’s royal visit last autumn.

Jean-Marc Flambert, vice-president sales and marketing UK and Europe at the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, said: “We are thrilled that our largest marketing campaign yet has had such tangible results for the destination and for the partner tour operators.

“We are going to do whatever it takes to grow tourism. We have amazing excursions, restaurants and beach bars on offer. We look forward to seeing the final results when the campaign comes to an end in August.”