Caribbean Tourism Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Numbers Show
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world, with one of the most affected being global tourism as people were forced to stay home. However, tourists are back and Caribbean tourism seems to have made a very big recovery. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world, with global tourism as one of the most affected since people were forced to stay home.

On Tuesday, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) shared some positive news, revealing new numbers that showed that the region has already recovered from the pandemic in terms of the tourism industry, especially in countries and territories like Puerto Rico, Curacao, and Dominican Republic, according to Travel Market Report.

In a press briefing in Barbados, Neil Walters, acting secretary general for the CTO, noted that in 2022, "the Caribbean tourism industry was resilient and built on the rebound that was noticeable from the middle of 2021."

Walters and CTO Chair Kenneth Bryan hosted a series of internal meetings and a regional press conference to outline the Caribbean's tourism industry performance in 2022.

A new report from the United Nations' World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) revealed that around 917 million tourists traveled internationally in 2022.

The report noted that by the end of 2022, some 28.3 million registered tourists had visited the Caribbean. That was around 52.4% more than in 2021.

The region also accounted for 3.1 percent of all arrivals worldwide, down by about 1% from the average recorded in 2021, which was around 4.1%.

Bryan said, "It's clearly apparent that even in the face of the devastating blows delivered by the pandemic, as a region, we have responded with hope, strength, and determination to prevail."

Tourists From the U.S. Drove Caribbean Tourism the Most in 2022

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. market drove over half the number of arrivals in the Caribbean in 2022, with 14.6 million U.S. tourists visiting the region. That was three million more tourists than the year before.

More Europeans also visited the region, as the number of tourists from Europe doubled last year with 5.2 million tourists. However, the number of Canadians visiting the region dropped. Only 2.1 million visitors from the North American country were recorded.

Puerto Rico and 5 Other Caribbean Countries and Territories Surpassed Pre-Pandemic Tourism Numbers

The Barbados-based CTO revealed that six countries and territories largely enjoyed this new tourism boom in the Caribbean. These are the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Curacao.

According to the Caribbean Journal, these six countries and territories surpassed their pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. Cruises to the Caribbean are also recovering and are projected to recover and even expand beyond the current numbers.

Currently, Caribbean cruise projections stand between 32 million and 33 million cruise passenger visits overall. That is around a 5 to 10% increase over pre-pandemic numbers set in 2019.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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