CARIBBEAN. Caribbean tourism is set for record growth in 2019 in the wake of a stronger than expected performance late last year, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).
The organisation is forecasting 6% to 7% growth this year compared to 2018, continuing an upward trend which began last September.
It reported “robust” 9.8% growth between September and December last year, representing a significant turnaround from the previous eight months of decline after infrastructure was damaged by hurricanes.
It is also expected that cruise arrivals will grow by a further 4% to 5% year-on-year.
However, the organisation warned of possible “significant headwinds to navigate”. These included: the outcome of Brexit; trading relations between the USA and China and potential extreme weather events hitting the islands.
But demand for international travel is expected to remain strong, underpinned by healthy economic activity and improved air connectivity.
The CTO’s Acting Director of Research Ryan Skeete said: “Even the destinations that were severely impacted by the 2017 hurricanes, despite registering overall double-digit declines last year, experienced a significant turnaround during the last four months, registering triple-digit increases during this period.
“With a strong performance during the last four months of 2018, including a robust showing by countries impacted by the 2017 hurricanes, the evidence suggests that Caribbean tourism is on the upswing.”
The 29.9 million tourist visits in 2018 represented the second highest number of visitors to the Caribbean on record, after the 30.6 million who visited in 2017. While this represented a 2.3% overall decline, it was better that the anticipated 3% to 4% fall.
Canada was the strongest performing market, with 3.9 million visits, a rise of 5.7%. The intra-Caribbean market had its best performance ever, reaching two million visitors, while South America produced 1.9 million tourist visits, representing a 3.6% increase. Arrivals from Europe grew by just 1.3%, with UK arrivals remaining flat at an estimated 1.3 million.
However, the USA, which remains the region’s leading market, was down, with the 13.9 million American tourist visits representing a 6.3% fall. This was due mainly to steep declines in arrivals to popular destinations hit by the hurricanes, such as Puerto Rico, which was down by 45.6%, and St. Maarten, which fell by 79%.
But, there was a 28% rise in arrivals from the USA in the fourth quarter, reflecting the strong turnaround during this period.
