Meagan Drillinger
While Guadeloupe has not traditionally been a major destination for the North American market, that may soon change. With new airlift, an expanding cultural calendar and a focused effort to re-engage travel advisors, Guadeloupe is positioning itself to gain visibility among U.S. and Canadian travelers.
According to Audrey Yacou, marketing executive USA for the Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Board, the destination welcomed 104,517 air passengers in September 2025, down 5.3% for the same month last year. "Despite that temporary dip, total traffic for the year remains up 3% compared with 2024, with more than 1.6 million passengers recorded so far," she said.
While JetBlue ended its New York service during last winter's season, temporarily slowing momentum, other carriers have helped fill the gap.
"Seasonal service from Miami [with American Airlines] and new connections from Toronto and Quebec [with Air Canada] are already helping us recover that capacity," Yacou said. The North American market posted 3.2% growth in September, supported by higher load factors on the Montreal-Guadeloupe route, which rose 11.4% year over year.
Guadeloupe's renewed strategy puts an emphasis on culture. The five-island archipelago (Basse-Terre, Grande-terre, Marie-Galante, Les Saintes and La Desirade) is a blend of French and Creole influences reflected in cuisine, music and festivals.
Guadeloupe's cultural calendar really begins to hum in February with the exuberant Guadeloupe Carnival, one of the Caribbean's most colorful and community-driven festivals. For weeks, the streets fill with parades, elaborate costumes and the rhythmic beats of traditional "Group a Po" drumming. In August, the annual Fete des Cuisinieres in Pointe-a-Pitre pays tribute to the matriarchs of Creole cuisine, as women dressed in traditional madras fabrics parade through the city carrying baskets of food and flowers.
Then in November, the islands welcome the Route du Rhum -- Destination Guadeloupe, the transatlantic sailing race now in its 48th year, which departs from Saint-Malo, France, and concludes in Pointe-a-Pitre. The race transforms the city's harbor into a weeklong festival of maritime heritage, rum tastings and islandwide celebration.
Meanwhile, the Memorial ACTe Museum continues to spotlight Guadeloupe's artistic legacy with a major exhibition honoring Guillaume Lethiere, the 18th-century Guadeloupe-born painter whose works have been shown at both the Louvre and the Clark Institute in Williamstown, Mass.
New openings and improved access
Guadeloupe's product landscape is evolving. In 2026, it will welcome its first Accor Group property, the Pullman Royal Key Wellness Resort in Le Moule on Grande-Terre.
The tourism board is rebuilding visibility through trade outreach, webinars, roadshows and fam trips, often in partnership with Atout France. A certification program is also available for advisors who want to deepen their destination expertise.