December 2019 Visitor Stats

As 2019 came to an end, it continued to underperform relative to prior year status.  Primary factors have been weather and facility closure.  Early in the year, poor weather resulted in both Cross Channel and Cruise Ship cancellations and in fewer boaters in the harbor. 

All Arrivals

December visitation decreased year-over-year in all but two sectors, resulting in a total decrease of 3.7% over the same month last year.

December total in-bound passengers = 56,595, down slightly from last year @ 56,785.  December 2019 was below the three-year average of 60,309. December was below the five-year average of 57,928 and exceeded ten-year average @ 47,896.

Arrivals by Sea

People arriving by sea, including private boaters, was 54,184 for the month down 5.7% from 57,477 last year.

• December Cross Channel passenger counts were down 13% year-over-year @ 28,359.
• 2014 had the highest volume for the month @ 39,960 passengers.
• 1992 had the lowest volume for the month @ 17,593 passengers.
• December Cross Channel passenger counts were below the three-year average of 32,376 by 12.4%.
• Cross Channel Carriers made up 50.1% of total monthly arrivals.

• Cruise passenger counts were up 5.86% year-over-year @ 24,849
• The number of Cruise Ships calling on Avalon was up @ 14 vs. 10 in December of 2018
• 2005 had the highest passenger volume for the month @ 25,612.
• 2008 had the lowest passenger volume for the month @ 4,662.
• December passenger counts were above the three-year average @ 24,377
• December passenger counts were above the five-year average of 23,693 by 4.9%
• Cruise passengers made up 43.9% of total monthly arrivals.

• Private Boater passenger counts were down 28% @ 976.
• 2017 had the highest volume for the month @ 2,216.
• 2015 had the lowest volume month @ 864.
• December counts were below the three-year average of 1,516 by 35.6%.
• December counts were below the five-year average of 1,287 by 24.2%
• December Boaters made up 1.7% of total monthly arrivals

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Arrivals by Air

Avalon's combined in-bound air passenger counts for December totaled 2,427, up 84.1% from 2018.  

• People aboard planes (Airport in the Sky) was up 298.7% year-over-year @ 1,782.
• 2019 had the highest volume of private aircraft passenger counts for the month @ 1,782.
• December counts were above the three-year average of 1,213 by 46.9%.
• Five and ten-year data sets are incomplete.
• December people aboard planes made up 3.1% of total monthly arrivals.

• People aboard Charter Helicopters was down year-over-year 26.9% @ 629.
• 2016 had the highest volume for the month @ 998.
• 2011 had the lowest volume for the month @ 459.
• December people aboard Helicopters made up 1.1% of total monthly arrivals.

Year-to-date Totals

• Year-end total arrivals = 1,021,177 down 3.4% from last year which was 1,056,678.  
• Year-end total arrivals is below the three-year average of 1,042,427 by 2.0%.
• Year-end total arrivals is below the five-year average of 1,042,565 by 2.1%.
• Year-end total arrivals is above the ten-year average of 928,563 by 10.0%

Note: the Airport in the Sky was closed January through May 2019 for runway repairs. 

To view historical data for total arrivals by sector, year and month in a spreadsheet form click here.  

Weather

Year-over-year comparison for highs, lows and precipitation is charted below for the month of December each year back to 2012. 

The number of rain days by month is charted below.  2019 represents the most rain days through year-end with 69 days recorded.  2017 had 37 rain days, 2012 had 41 rain days for the same time period.  There were 11 rain days in December this year.