Caribbean tourism maintains hopes of closing the year with good results

10-12-23

In a year when post-pandemic travel seemed dominated by demand to Europe and other long-haul destinations, the Caribbean emerged as a leader in tourism growth and demand.

Two of the region's most popular destinations have declared that this year may be their best ever. The Dominican Republic expects to receive a record number of tourists in 2023, tourism authorities said in October.

This year's growth is the highest since the pandemic, up 35% from 2019, and the country expects to welcome 10 million visitors by the end of the year. The country was helped by a triple-digit rebound in cruise ship arrivals, which contributed 1.7 million arrivals between January and September. 

And Jamaica's Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett told the Jamaica Product Exchange (Japex) conference in September that the island is experiencing the "best year in tourism history," expecting 2.7 million arrivals by the end of the year, up 5% over 2019.

According to air travel analytics firm ForwardKeys, flight bookings to Caribbean destinations this year lead global growth in international tourist arrivals compared to 2019. 

The Dominican Republic dominates, with flight bookings up 14% over 2019, followed by Costa Rica and Aruba at 11%, Jamaica at 9% and the Bahamas at 3%. 

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) attributes the region's continued growth despite competition for several reasons. These include strong outbound travel demand from short-haul markets; increased air capacity and improved connectivity; and continued promotion of the islands by their tourism boards.