Caribbean tourism shows fastest recovery

EditorialRoom 28th October 2021

The Caribbean’s Travel & Tourism sector is recovering at a faster rate than any other region in the world, with its contribution to GDP expected to rise more than 47% this year, compared to just 30.7% globally, reveals new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

According to the London-based council which which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, the Caribbean is now benefiting from more relaxed restrictions around the world which is in turn boosting international travel spend and aiding the region’s swift economic recovery.

While the global economy is set to receive a modest 30.7% year on year increase from Travel & Tourism in 2021, representing USD 1.4 trillion and is mainly driven by domestic spending, the Caribbean region can expect a year-on-year increase of 47.3%, representing an increase of nearly USD 12 billion, driven by both international and domestic travel spend.

However, while the Caribbean is recovering faster than other regions, this is still below its performance in 2019, a record year for the sector, where Travel & Tourism represented more than 14% of the region’s GDP contributing more than USD 58 billion to its economy.

The research also reveals that at the current rate of recovery, Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the Caribbean economy could see a further year-on-year rise of 28.7% in 2022, representing a boost of USD 10 billion.

The data reveals that domestic spending growth is set to be stronger than international in all regions except for the Caribbean, and at the current rate of recovery international visitor spend across the region could see a year-on-year rise of 61.7% in 2021, ahead of domestic spend which could witness a rise of 52.6%.

Next year, international spend can continue to rise with a further year-on-year jump of 43.1%, with domestic spending being also increasing by 13.6%.

Last year, a year in which damaging travel restrictions brought much of international travel to a grinding halt, 680,000 Travel & Tourism jobs were lost across the popular holiday region, equating to almost a quarter of all jobs in the sector.

However, this year the research reveals an expected 12% rise in jobs (compared to a meagre 0.7% globally), with a similar potential year-on-year jobs rise across the sector next year, by a positive 11.5%.