Data Indicate Tourism To Nantucket Was Roughly Flat During Summer 2025

The number of visitors to Nantucket through the end of the summer season was roughly the same as last year, according to data collected from a number of sources including the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce. But tourism is still up significantly over pre-pandemic numbers.

Placer.AI, a location analytics company that both the Chamber and the town of Nantucket use to measure visitation numbers, shows a two percent decrease in tourism so far this year from 2024, but an eight percent increase from the same period in 2019. This lends credence to the idea that any drops in local tourism are the result of Nantucket trending back toward its pre-pandemic average.

Other sources of data show slightly different information, but all of the data suggests that any changes from 2024 were small. Data from the Steamship Authority shows a 3.6 percent increase in traffic to Nantucket through August 21st, suggesting visitation numbers may actually be up. The Nantucket Memorial Airport has also seen an increase in enplanements this year.

Placer.AI’s data is likely the single best source for understanding how many visitors travel to Nantucket, as it distinguishes between visitors and residents. The data from the steamship and the airport do not make these distinctions, meaning that the observed changes could be caused in part by increased travel from year-round locals.

However, while Placer.AI’s data is considered accurate, and it did show a slight decrease in tourism over 2024, the change is small enough that it could be the result of data fluctuations and not represent an actual drop in visitation.

“We tested [four] other services using the same methodology, and found [Placer.AI] to be the most accurate,” Chamber of Commerce executive director Peter Burke said. “However, all of those systems need grains of salt in smaller, remote geographies like ours.”

Data from the state that lumps Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard together showed a slight decrease in demand but an increase in revenue from hotels and short-term rentals through July. This data also likely avoids the problem of including Nantucket residents, but the inclusion of Martha’s Vineyard makes it difficult to know if the revenue increase applies to Nantucket.

“Using all of the inputs - our eyes, word of mouth from businesses, and these available reports, I believe this [year-to-date] showed an increase in day trip travel, but not by an enormous margin,” Burke said.