Delivering the closing remarks at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s inaugural Air Connectivity Summit on Feb. 24, Tourism Director Rosa Harris underscored the economic significance of aviation for the region, describing air connectivity as central to tourism and broader economic resilience.
“Air connectivity is our oxygen,” said Harris, describing it as “not simply a tourism enabler. It is an economic lifeline of Caribbean nations”.
The summit convened tourism ministers, airline executives, airport officials and aviation consultants to examine structural challenges and growth opportunities in Caribbean aviation.
Discussions centred on how to better leverage the region’s approximately 44 million annual visitors while distributing benefits more evenly through coordinated marketing and air service development.
A new regional connectivity study presented by Airport Strategy and Marketing Ltd. showed steady traffic growth across the Caribbean, but identified capacity gaps in select European and South American markets, including Italy, Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
Delegates emphasised that sustainable expansion will require destinations to build stronger, data-driven business cases for airlines, grounded in load factors, market intelligence and realistic demand projections.
Regional collaboration emerged as a recurring theme.
Harris, who serves as chair of the CTO Airlift Committee, referenced comments from Grisha Heyliger-Marten, deputy prime minister of Dutch St. Maarten, who warned that “competition is our fragmentation”, urging destinations to expand their collective marketing power to strengthen global competitiveness.
The concept of promoting a more unified ‘One Caribbean’ approach was raised as a strategy to better coordinate route development and distribute visitor flows.
High taxes and airport fees were cited as ongoing barriers to intra-regional travel and competitiveness. Several participants called for closer coordination among ministries of tourism, finance and immigration to address regulatory and cost structures that affect aviation growth.
Infrastructure development was also examined, with delegates cautioning against over-reliance on airport charges to fund expansion and advocating for facilities scaled to national economic realities.
In opening remarks, Bermuda Minister of Tourism Owen Darrell described connectivity as “the fabric of our shared heritage and the lifeline of our nations”, and essential infrastructure for trade, tourism and regional integration – a framing that Harris echoed in her closing summary.
“Unlocking the Caribbean’s full connectivity potential will require coordinated leadership, technical expertise and deliberate policy reform,” she said.
The Cayman Islands delegation included Harris, Chief Officer for the Ministry of Tourism Stran Bodden, Cayman Airways CEO Fabian Whorms, Paul Tibbetts, executive vice president of finance and commercial affairs and CFO, and representatives from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
Harris’ remarks came against the backdrop of strong recent performance in Cayman’s tourism sector.
The destination recorded its best January on record, with total inbound seat capacity from the United States, Canada and the UK via Nassau reaching 90,060 seats, an increase of 18,750 seats compared to the previous year.
The growth was driven by expanded service from Chicago, Toronto and Miami, alongside new routes from Fort Lauderdale, Detroit and Ottawa.
Between February and May 2026, Cayman is scheduled to see an additional 44,000 inbound seats compared to the same period in 2025.
Harris has attributed the performance to deliberate, data-driven airlift decisions and sustained collaboration with airline partners.
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