Regional tourist arrivals on the rise, says CTO

NEW YORK (CMC): 

The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) says tourist arrivals in the region are on the rebound with aggregate visitors to the wider Caribbean, as gauged by recorded arrivals from 23 of the 33 CTO member countries, increasing by 4.5 per cent so far in 2010.

In an overview of the regional industry, the CTO said activity in the United States market has resurged "admirably", recording a 6.5 per cent increase in the first four months of this year.

The CTO said the US has been the "most reassuring performance" of all the major markets.

In contrast, the Canadian market has slowed down, up just one per cent so far this year.

"This was a reversal in the direction and magnitude observed in that market, which remained robust throughout the quarters of last year, when the global economic crisis was at its deepest," said the CTO.

It said European markets are doing "very poorly", as their economies continue to reel under the pressure of the monetary and financial crisis brought about by the global recession, aggravated by the Icelandic volcanic ash and industrial unrest in the major UK airline industry.

The CTO said arrivals declined 4.3 per cent for Europe as a whole, declaring that this situation was not expected to ease up this summer, as unemployment in these economies remains high and consumer confidence low.

Scenario of hope

It said the euro was also almost 25 per cent lower in value, vis-à-vis the US dollar, when the present rates are compared with those during this period two years ago.

"In total, improving arrivals reveal a scenario of hope," said the CTO, noting that arrival activity showed signs of rapid recovery after double-digit declines in the "troughs of the global economic crisis last year.

"Those countries heavily dependent on the European market are in for a bumpy ride in light of the current European economic realities," the regional tourism body said.

The CTO disclosed that the subregional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) was hardest hit by reduced arrivals, showing an overall 12.3 per cent decline in 2009.

It said moderate recovery took place in the first quarter of 2010, driven mainly by increases in St Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda to a lesser extent.

Overall, however, it said there was a 3.3 per cent growth in this grouping over the period - "a significant turnabout from this time last year".

But the CTO said Barbados and the larger Caribbean Community countries fared relatively better than the smaller ones.

"As a group, these countries recorded over five per cent increase in traffic for the first four months, with Jamaica leading the charge with just under 10 per cent growth," it said.

The CTO said Cuba was "flat" during the first four months (0 per cent), mainly attributable to the slowdown in Canadian and European travel.

Dominican Republic showed a slight rise (2.0 per cent), Puerto Rico (8.8 per cent) and the US Virgin Islands (11.5 per cent) displayed relatively good performances under the circumstances.