The optimism of the most important managers of tourism in the Caribbean is felt everywhere.

They are the industry that drives the GDP of their countries and generators of foreign currency that their economies need.

The Caribbean is the second region in the world that recovered tourism the fastest and some countries have exceeded the 2019 numbers regarding the arrival of tourists.

In this context, the motto of the meeting in Barbados: "Tourism: the key driver of generational wealth for the citizens of the Caribbean" makes a lot of sense.

The number of visitors in this first quarter of the year in several Caribbean countries reflect this recovery. Some exceed the figures for 2019 at the same time of year.

“It's been a promising start to the year,” says Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

Aruba is another destination that reaffirms success, with the #1 hotel for couples in the Caribbean: Bucuti Tara Beach Resort Aruba, as Crescenzia Biemans, Executive Team, Legal & Public Relations of the Resort, has told us.

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.

In the second edition of the Caribbean Travel Forum and the 41st Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the participating ministers and authorities agreed on the decisive participation of tourism in the GDP of the countries.

Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), said the Caribbean is the second fastest recovery globally, though still 36.1% below the 2019 peak. sense 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 United States remains the main source market for the Caribbean, Latin America leads the resurgence of tourism in the Caribbean in 2023.

According to ForwardKeys statistics, visitors from Latin America are growing and led foreign arrivals to the Caribbean in the first quarter of 2023.

Colombia (+48%), Peru (+21%) and Argentina (+15%) are the three main markets in the Caribbean.

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 GDP and employment growth forecast 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