Barbados is hosting the second edition of the Caribbean Travel Forum and the 41st Caribbean Travel Marketplace, where ministers and authorities from Caribbean countries discuss issues that will shape the future of the region's travel industry.

Nicola Madden-Greig, President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), began by noting that the Caribbean is the second fastest recovery globally, although still 36.1% below the 2019 peak. In this sense, he considered it important to "continue betting on public-private collaboration".

In the report on the state of the travel industry in the Caribbean, Nicola Madden-Greig highlighted that the tourism sector contributed +36.6% to regional GDP, data confirmed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) managed by Julia simpson.

The main data indicates:

The Tourism Sector contributed +36.6% to regional GDP.

It is the second fastest recovery globally, although still 36.1% below the peak of 2019.

311,000 new jobs were achieved in 2021, +15.2% increase from 2020.

Tourism-related jobs account for 13.4% of employment in the region.

The forecast for GDP growth and employment for the next 10 years is encouraging.

The WTTC says that by 2032 the income that tourism will bring is US$96.6 billion, while 1.34 million new jobs will be created.

This growth is based on resolving different issues, which are precisely the central themes of meetings such as the Caribbean Travel Forum

•Lack of air connectivity and high cost of air travel

•Increased investments in digital solutions, infrastructure and human capital

•Better preparedness for crises

• Focus on environmental protection

•Collaboration and coordination across the region by governments and industry

Among the key personalities present are the Minister of Tourism of Jamaica, Edmund Bartlett, the Minister of Tourism and Transport of the Cayman Islands and President of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Kenneth Bryan, the Minister of Tourism of Barbados, Ian Gooding-Edghill, the president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Renée Coppin, and the CEO Chukka Caribbean - operator of adventure activities in the Caribbean - Marc Melville.