BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) says the regional tourism sector recorded increased visitor arrivals last year, with an estimated 14.3 percent of international visitors coming to the Caribbean, continuing the sector’s positive recovery trend.
Delivering the “Caribbean Tourism Performance Review 2023” on Friday, CTO Secretary General Dona Regis-Prosper attributed the outcome to sustained demand for outbound travel from the United States, the Caribbean’s primary source market, and enhanced tourism-related infrastructure within the destinations.
She said the improvement was also due to the fulfillment of strategic marketing initiatives and augmented airlift capacity between the region and its source markets, albeit unevenly distributed among the destinations.
Regis-Prosper said global tourism recovery has been resilient despite variability in regional performances. The Caribbean surpassed pre-pandemic arrivals by a modest 0.8 percent, outperforming most of the leading international regions in terms of recovery.
“Based on preliminary data provided so far by the destinations in the Caribbean, tourist visits were approximately 32.2 million, about four million more than in 2022,” said Regis-Prosper. The data showed that each month’s arrivals exceeded those of 2022, thus establishing a continuous growth trend over the past 33 months as tourism steadily rebounded toward pre-pandemic levels.
The CTO said that arrival levels amongst Caribbean destinations either significantly recovered or moderately exceeded the benchmark numbers of 2019, with 11 destinations, Anguilla, Aruba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands performing better than in 2019.
Most of those recovered over 50 percent of their 2019 arrivals. In addition, multiple destinations registered new record levels for tourist arrivals in a year.
The CTO said that only the U.S. market has fully recovered for the Caribbean, while the recovery rates of arrivals from Europe and Canada reached 88.2 and 88.1 percent, respectively. An estimated 16.3 million stay-over arrivals to the region came from the United States, representing an annual growth rate of 12.7 percent.
The CTO said the performance established a new record level of arrivals from this market and surpassed the pre-pandemic arrivals by 4.2 percent.
“The performance of the Canadian market resulted in an estimated three million Canadian tourist visits by the end of the year, an increase of 46.1 percent compared to 2022. Increased air service from major Canadian cities to Caribbean destinations was pivotal in increasing visitor numbers.”
Regis-Prosper noted that arrivals from Europe to the Caribbean region stagnated in 2023, with approximately 5.2 million trips originating from the market.
In 2023, travel among Caribbean residents to destinations within the region increased by approximately 3.6 percent, to 1.6 million trips, which was 0.3 million more than in 2022. This also indicated a recovery of 62.5% from pre-pandemic levels.
“Despite this positive outcome, intra-regional travel remained expensive due to fragmented air service and reduced air capacity,” said Regis-Prosper.
By the end of the year, trips from South America to the region surged by an estimated 14 percent, totaling 1.7 million trips.
The Caribbean hotel sector experienced a remarkable turnaround in 2023, including a surge in the establishment of new hotels and resorts. According to STR, throughout the Caribbean, average room occupancy grew to 65.6 percent in 2023 from 61 percent in 2022.
The average daily rate (ADR) increased considerably by 11.8%, reaching US$329.37 in the region. Meanwhile, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) jumped 20.2 percent to US$215.97.
Preliminary data for 2023 showed that Caribbean destinations received an estimated 31.1 million cruise visits, an increase of 11.3 million visits or 56.8 percent compared to 2019.
The CTO said this level established a new record for the regional cruise sector, surpassing the previous record of 2019 by 2.4 percent. Pent-up demand and the resumption of operations drove strong bookings for Caribbean cruises and improved cruise infrastructure, such as larger ships, enhanced facilities, itineraries, and shore excursions.
It said projections indicate that the cruise sector will continue its upward track, with an estimated 34.2 million to 35.8 million cruise visits expected in the Caribbean in 2024, an average increase of 10 and 15 percent.
CTO chairman Kenneth Bryan, who also serves as the Cayman Islands’ Minister of Tourism and Ports, noted the tourism industry’s remarkable resilience and ongoing recovery and growth in 2023.
However, he emphasized that the industry and the region will continue to face an array of challenges in 2024, including the high cost of travel, ongoing conflicts, and heightened geopolitical tensions, and their anticipated impacts.
“Caribbean destinations remain adaptable and responsive, and the region is still highly desired by travelers for its safety and diversity of tourism products,” said Bryan. He added that the region will also be positively impacted by key developments in 2024, including increased air capacity throughout the year, which will facilitate greater access between the destinations and some of their legacy and emerging markets.
Bryan also pointed to “intensive strategic marketing initiatives” that are being executed to attract visitors to the region to enjoy its culture and heritage, including its carnivals and festivals.
He noted that the CTO is pleased that the ICC (International Cricket Council) Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 is being hosted in several destinations. This will bring not only teams but also their loyal followers to the region, further raising awareness and promoting the diverse offerings of Caribbean destinations to global audiences.
“Hence, the Caribbean’s prospects appear highly promising, with more regional destinations poised to match or surpass the arrival figures recorded in 2019. The anticipated growth is forecast to range between five percent and 10 percent, potentially welcoming between 33.8 million and 35.4 million stay-over tourists,” Bryan added.
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