Caribbean Tourism Organisation predicts ‘promising’ year for region

The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) UK & Europe has predicted a “promising” year for the region, and is hopeful visitor numbers will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Sharing data collected by the the organisation’s Barbados chapter at an event at the Bulgari Hotel in London, the CTO UK & Europe revealed a total of 28 million tourists visited the Caribbean in 2022, equalling 89% of 2019 levels.

The organisation said 14 destinations in the region saw an increase in arrivals in one or more months in 2022 when compared to the same period in 2019.

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Meanwhile, the US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Curacao all surpassed their total pre-pandemic arrival numbers for the year.

The CTO UK & Europe said there was a “robust resurgence” in travel from Europe which it attributed to pent-up demand and increased savings during the pandemic.

European travellers represented 18% of all arrivals in 2022, reaching 88% of 2019 levels.

Data from 20 countries shows the number of UK visitors tripled compared to 2022, from 0.3 million to 0.9 million, and reached 81% of 2019 levels.

The total number of cruise visitors to the region reached 19 million – five times more than in 2021 and 63% of 2019 numbers.

The organisation went on to say its recovery was “undermined” by global problems throughout the year, citing rising prices and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, labour shortages, global inflation and heightened geopolitical tension as reasons.

Looking ahead to 2023, the CTO UK & Europe said: “The outlook for travel is promising despite global pressures like high inflation, the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis, as well as the impending economic recession.

“When compared to 2022, it is expected that overall arrivals to the region will increase by between 10% and 15%. This means that between 31 and 33 million tourists can be expected to visit the region this year. Thus, tourist arrivals this year, might surpass pre-pandemic arrivals.

“In 2023, the cruise industry is also anticipated to continue recovering and expanding. As more ships are deployed, the capacity for cruises will rise and demand will stay high.

“All ports in the region have reopened, and some have started homeporting. In the region, there should be between 32 and 33 million cruise visits overall, which is a 5-10% increase over the pre-Covid baseline figure.”