Caribbean hits 30-million mark in stay over visitors in 2017

The Caribbean set a record with 30 million in stay-over arrivals for the first time in 2017, even as the region battled the effects of catastrophic hurricanes.

The figures were released on Thursday by the Barbados based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

$37 billion to Caribbean economies

According to the CTO’s acting director of research, Ryan Skeete, the visitors contributed US$37 billion to Caribbean economies during the 12-month period, up 2.6 per cent over 2016.

The tourism researcher explained that stay-over arrivals were on track for a strong performance during the first-half of 2017, growing by an estimated 4.8 per cent, but growth was curtailed in the second half of the year by the storms, which were largely responsible for a 1.7 per cent drop between July and December.

“These outcomes resulted in an overall increase of 1.7 per cent in 2017, making it the eighth consecutive year of growth, albeit slower than the average global growth rate of 6.7 per cent.

The CTO official explained that strong economic performance in the main markets helped spur the region’s performance, with some destinations recording strong double-digit growth, although the hurricane-affected countries were down between seven per cent and 18 per cent.

US is still primary market

The United States continued to be the primary market, growing by about 0.5 per cent to reach an estimated 14.9 million visits to the region due mainly to solid economic growth, low unemployment and high consumer confidence; while the Canadian market rebounded strongly, recording a 4.3 per cent increase in arrivals, compared to a decline of 3.1 per cent in 2016.

European market had strongest growth rate

However, it was the European market that recorded the strongest growth rate, increasing by 6.2 per cent to 5.8 million visitors, with the United Kingdom up by 2.9 per cent to 1.3 million.

The CTO said the economic conditions are expected to be favorable for further growth in 2018, therefore it predicts growth of two to three per cent in both stay-over and cruise arrivals.