Sparked by robust recovery in the destinations that were affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, Caribbean tourism rebounded soundly to post record stayover and cruise arrivals in 2019. Stayover arrivals grew by 4.4 percent to reach 31.5 million, outpacing the international rate of growth of 3.8 percent reported by the World Tourism Organization, and the highest growth rate in the Americas.

At the same time, cruise visits increased by 3.4 percent to 30.2 million, representing the seventh consecutive year of growth.

In presenting the Caribbean Tourism Performance Report for 2019 in an online presentation, Neil Walters, the acting secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) said the record performance was triggered by steep rises – as high as 80 percent in the case of St. Maarten – in the hurricane affected countries.

“Overall, the destinations most impacted by the hurricanes in 2017 saw some of the highest rates of growth,” Walters said.

In addition to St. Maarten, all the worst-affected destinations reported double-digit growth. Anguilla was up by 74.9 percent, the British Virgin Islands increased by 57.3 percent, Dominica rose by 51.7 percent, the US Virgin Islands saw a38.1 percent improvement and Puerto Rico increased by 31.2 percent.

After two years of decline, the US was the best performing market in 2019, registering an increase of 10 percent to reach a record 15.5 million visitors.

However, Canada, from which there was sustained growth in each of the last three years, was sluggish in 2019 at 0.4 percent, equivalent to 3.4 million tourist visits, Walters revealed, who added that while arrivals from Europe were down, the intra-regional market was on the up.

“The European market dipped by 1.4 percent from 5.9 million in 2018 to 5.8 million. The UK was down by 5.6 percent to approximately 1.3 million visitors. On the other hand, intra-Caribbean travel increased by 7.4 percent to reach 2.0 million, while the South American market declined by 10.4 percent to 1.5 million,” the acting secretary general told the online audience.

However, Walters warned that while 2019 was a great year overall for Caribbean tourism, there are a few potential hurdles on the horizon – such as environmental, political and social uncertainty and the impact of climate change – that could impact its performance this year. These concerns notwithstanding, the CTO predicts growth of one to two percent this year.