Caribbean tourism: international traveler arrivals surged in 2023

According to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), international traveler arrivals to the Caribbean region surged by 14.3% in 2023, indicating a positive trend in the sector’s recovery.

CTO Secretary-General, Dona Regis-Prosper, attributed this growth to the sustained demand for travel from the United States, the Caribbean’s largest source market, and the enhanced tourism infrastructure across destinations.

Regis-Prosper highlighted that strategic marketing efforts and increased air transport capacity also contributed to the rise in arrivals, although the distribution varied among destinations.

The total tourist visits reached approximately 32.2 million, marking an increase of around four million compared to 2022. Moreover, the Caribbean surpassed pre-pandemic arrival levels by a modest 0.8%.

Regis-Prosper further noted that eleven destinations, including the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands, moderately exceeded their 2019 reference figures.

He projected that about 16.3 million arrivals to the region would originate from the United States in 2023, reflecting an annual growth rate of 12.7%. Additionally, the Canadian market experienced significant growth, with approximately three million visits recorded by Canadian tourists by the year’s end, marking a 46.1% increase compared to 2022. Regis-Prosper attributed this growth to the improved air service connecting major Canadian cities to Caribbean destinations.

However, arrivals from Europe remained stagnant, with a total of approximately 5.2 million trips, while arrivals from South America increased by 14%, totaling 1.7 million trips, as reported by EFE.