Bermuda Rebuilds Its Edge: What’s Driving the Island’s Luxury Comeback in 2025
At the 2025 Bermuda International Partner Summit, data and dialogue pointed to a measured luxury rebound—buoyed by new air routes, a refreshed marketing voice, and a focus on year-round, high-value travelers over volume.
Photo: Kino / Unsplash
Bermuda is entering 2026 with a clearer sense of direction. After years of uneven recovery and limited capacity, the island is regaining traction with affluent travelers—and recalibrating what luxury means in one of the Atlantic’s most storied destinations.
The 2025 Bermuda International Partners Summit, which took place yesterday at the island’s famed Hamilton Princess, painted a picture of cautious optimism: stronger airlift, rising visitor spend, and a fresh marketing narrative rooted in authenticity rather than volume.
The data is encouraging. In 2024, Bermuda welcomed roughly 203,000 visitors, a figure that reflects the island’s steady return as a high-end leisure destination. The fourth quarter alone saw 27,000 leisure visitors arrive by air, a 30% jump over the previous year.
“We’re only at 83% of our traffic recovery, when comparing that to 2019,” said Aaron Adderley, the president of the Bermuda Skyport Corporation, which managed the development of Bermuda’s new airport terminal. “Fewer passengers, fewer hotel beds, but our seat capacity is at 100% of where it was in 2019.”
According to Lamar Caines, the director of data strategy and insights at the Bermuda Tourism Authority, the island’s visitor profile is skewing older, wealthier, and more intentional. Roughly 74 percent of arrivals come from the United States, followed by Canada and the United Kingdom. “Canada has had an exceptional year,” Caines said. “Through August, total travel and leisure travel are up 31 percent, with Halifax arrivals up 85 percent and Montreal up 36 percent.” The typical leisure traveler stays about six nights and lists safety, friendliness, and scenery as the top reasons for visiting. “Bermuda is not a value destination,” Caines added. “It’s firmly on the high-end, which is reflected in our visitor demographics.”
That positioning has implications for air service. The aviation panel underscored both the momentum and the fragility of Bermuda’s connectivity. Global airline revenues are forecast to hit a record $979 billion in 2025, but profit margins remain slim and supply chains tight. Delayed aircraft deliveries and pilot shortages are forcing carriers to prioritize only the most efficient routes. “An airline that once operated year-round service is now opting for seasonal,” said Adderley. “Another that flew seven days a week is down to four.” A JetBlue executive echoed the sentiment, noting that with two major hotels still shuttered, “hotel capacity is a driving issue.”
Yet the outlook isn’t entirely constrained. BermudAir, the island’s homegrown carrier, has become a bright spot in the market’s diversification. “The opportunity is to make Bermuda that much more accessible,” said CEO Adam Scott. “It’s especially important for us to be that year-round partner. We need to show the world how great Bermuda is year-round.” The airline has added new links from Raleigh-Durham and will launch LaGuardia service by the end of the month—routes that were previously unserved but align closely with Bermuda’s core Northeast audience.
Connectivity is also shaping demand. Olivier Ponti, director of intelligence and marketing at ForwardKeys, presented data showing that Bermuda’s air capacity grew roughly 1% in 2024, slightly below the Caribbean average, but with strong performance from the U.K. market despite overall cuts in British airlift. “Your market share on this route is actually growing,” Ponti said, crediting the island’s resilience amid industry consolidation.
He identified clear room for growth in the winter months. “By doing a better job on the U.S. market during the slow season, Bermuda could capture more than 100,000 additional stays,” Ponti explained. His analysis also highlighted Montreal as an under-served city with high travel intent—an opportunity for airlines and hoteliers alike.
The island’s marketing response is evolving accordingly. Nina Steinhoff, the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s director of marketing, described a deliberate shift toward storytelling through local voices. “We really wanted to lead with the story of Bermuda through the lens of Bermudians,” she said during a panel discussion.
Recent campaigns have featured historian Dr. Ed Harris, forager Dr. Doreen Williams-Payne, and other islanders who showcase Bermuda’s culture and ecology in first-person form. “When people come to Bermuda, they can meet Dr. Doreen and go on her foraging tour, and experience the island through her lens,” Steinhoff added. “We’re really just trying to lean into the authenticity and the personalization.”
It’s a strategy consistent with broader regional trends. Dona Regis-Prosper, secretary general and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, noted that destinations are moving from “sun-lust” to “sun-plus,” pairing coastal appeal with cultural immersion and community-based experiences. “We’re focusing on providing value, not just volume,” she said. For Bermuda, that means deepening the connection between travelers and the island’s creative and natural assets rather than competing on price or scale.
The data supports that pivot. Caines’ visitor-satisfaction surveys show that the friendliness of locals and the island’s beauty consistently rank highest among reasons to return. Word-of-mouth remains a powerful driver, while repeat visitation correlates with higher income brackets and longer stays. The average length of stay for European visitors approaches nine nights, and visitors aged 35 and older represent the most satisfied segment. “The higher-income you are,” Caines said, “the more likely you are to be satisfied on the island.”
Seasonality, however, remains the structural challenge. Ponti’s ForwardKeys models reveal that Bermuda’s high-season peak is sharper than comparable islands such as Turks & Caicos, leaving room to smooth occupancy through targeted winter promotions. His conclusion mirrors Steinhoff’s marketing focus on short-lead travelers: The BTA’s recent “Endless Summer” campaign leaned heavily on social channels to drive late bookings through mid-October.
What’s emerging is a more disciplined, data-driven approach to growth. The airport’s management team noted that Bermuda’s new terminal, which opened five years ago, can accommodate modest increases in traffic through “collaborative slot management,” allowing schedules to flex without major infrastructure expansion. Incentive programs and transparent fee structures are being used to encourage airlines to extend seasonal routes or test shoulder-period service.
For the island’s luxury segment, all this adds up to a pragmatic recovery story. Bermuda is not chasing mass tourism; it’s rebuilding a high-yield model anchored by authenticity, safety, and proximity. The return of major properties—most notably the long-awaited Fairmont Southampton redevelopment—will restore significant room supply by 2026, while smaller brands such as The Loren and Azura continue to hold the boutique tier. Paired with new air options and a marketing focus that privileges local perspective, Bermuda is positioning itself for sustainable, year-round appeal.
The underlying message from this week’s summit was clear: Bermuda’s comeback won’t hinge on headline arrivals but on the quality of engagement and the stability of its partnerships. As one airline executive put it, “The plane doesn’t care where it flies—it does what you tell it, and it better produce a return on investment.” Bermuda’s task now is ensuring that every seat, and every stay, delivers one.
