Caribbean tourism leaders are cautiously optimistic about the revival of the industry with preliminary data suggesting the region outperformed the rest of the world in the first half of 2021.
Despite the continued impact of the pandemic, 6.6 million international tourists visited the region in the first half of the year, according to data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
That is a 12% decline on the same period in 2020, which saw the region enjoy record-breaking figures before the coronavirus put a virtual halt to travel in March.
The second quarter of 2021 saw the most significant improvement for the Caribbean as more destinations reopened and more airlines returned to the skies.
For April, May and June – the months most impacted by the pandemic – visitation to the region was between 10 and 37 times greater in 2021 than in 2020, according to the CTO’s research department.
“These are encouraging signs that the hard work our member countries have put into adapting to the changing environment of the pandemic is beginning to pay dividends,” said Neil Walters, the CTO’s acting secretary general, in a press statement.
“Even as we embrace a recovery mindset and the opportunities the pandemic has given us, we must continue to be mindful of the challenges we currently face and the potential challenges a dynamic situation like the pandemic can present.
The Caribbean tourism sector is known to be one of the most resilient in the world.”
Official figures have not yet been compiled for the third quarter of 2021, but Walters said preliminary reports are promising.
“In the third quarter, some of our member destinations recorded arrival numbers that rivalled, and in some instances, surpassed, the corresponding months in 2019.
“This by no means suggests that we are back to the pre-pandemic record numbers, and we remain fully aware of how quickly things can change with this virus. But it’s an encouraging sign that the Caribbean comeback is on,” he said.
The CTO has designated November as Caribbean Tourism Month, with this year’s theme ‘Caribbean Comeback’.
“It’s a theme that illustrates that as a region, we are on our way back from the devastating impact of the pandemic,” said Walters.
“One of the very positive signs of recovery is, that as the markets reopen, the region is welcoming an increasing number of flights, including direct service to destinations that are either never had such service before, or have not had direct service for several years.”
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