Gay Nagle Myers
There was good news from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) last week in terms of 2019 stayover and cruise numbers in the Caribbean, but the message was tempered with words of caution.
Potential hurdles on the horizon include the environment, political and social uncertainty, and health and safety issues.
A robust rebound and recovery in the destinations impacted by the 2017 hurricanes boosted record stayover arrivals to 31.5 million visitors and cruise arrivals to 30.2 million passengers for the entire Caribbean region last year.
Neil Walters, acting secretary general of the CTO, said during the online press briefing that the record performance was triggered by steep rises in stayover arrivals -- as high as 80% growth in the case of St. Maarten -- in the hurricane-impacted countries.
"Overall, the destinations most affected saw some of the highest rates of growth, including Anguilla, up 74.9%; the British Virgin Islands, up 57.3%; Dominica, up 51.7%; the U.S. Virgin Islands, up 38.1%; and Puerto Rico, up 31.2%," Walters said.
After two years of decline, the U.S. was the best performing market, registering a 10% jump over 2018 to reach a record 15.5 million visitors.
Globally, the Canadian market was sluggish and the European market dipped, as did South America, but intra-Caribbean travel was up by 7.4%, according to the CTO.
Citing data from STR Global, Walters reported revenue per available hotel room was $138.45, up 2.8%, while the average daily room rate grew by 5.6%, to $218.82.
However, on the down side, occupancy fell 2.7%, from 65.5% to 63.7%.
Overall, 2019 "was a great year for Caribbean tourism, based not only on the record performance by the region but also for some individual destinations," according to Walters.
He added, "As we navigate 2020, concerns remain over global economic, environmental, political and social uncertainties, including the U.S. presidential election, the impact of climate change and extreme weather events and health threats/issues, especially the coronavirus and how these could influence our performance."
Dominic Fedee, the CTO's chairman, weighed in on the coronavirus issue when asked what measures were in place should it impact the Caribbean.
"We have to manage it, we have to be sure that all the health agencies and cruise lines hold hands and work together to make sure we are all singing from the same hymn sheet," Fedee said.
In his opinion, confusion abounds about how to contain the virus.
"Developing countries don't have a grip on this, and we're seeing the confusion and mixed messages as major countries try to deal with it. The Caribbean would not be in a good position if the virus were to come here," he said.
The region is following protocols and updates issued by the Caribbean Public Health Agency as well as from the World Health Organization.
Despite the challenges facing the Caribbean in 2020, the CTO projected that stayover tourist arrivals will grow between 1% and 2% this year, with a similar rate of growth for the cruise sector.