Last year was a disaster for Caribbean tourism. Estimates suggest that visitor arrivals to the region fell by 75% in the last three quarters of 2020 causing overall Caribbean economic growth for the year to contract by 6.2%.
Despite this, industry professionals now express cautious optimism that by the end of 2021 Caribbean tourism will begin to see a gradual but eventual full recovery.
Speaking about this, Frank Comito, the outgoing CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), says that while the industry did not anticipate tourism returning this year to anywhere near what it experienced in terms of arrival numbers prior to Covid-19, there were strong indications of pent-up demand and growth in the redemption of previously cancelled bookings.