NEW YORK, NY - Spurred on by a 24 per cent rise iarrivals from the United States, the Caribbean recorded a healthy 12 percent increase in tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2019, according to statistics compiled by the Caribbean Tourism Organization(CTO). (6 June, 2019)
In updating the media on the region’s performance at a news conferencethis morning hosted at the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel as part of CaribbeanWeek New York [1] (#CWNY2019), CTO chairman Dominic Fedee revealed thatbetween January and March this year there were 9.1 million international
tourist trips to the region, up by 970,000 over the corresponding periodlast year.
The arrivals boom extended to the cruise sector as well, with a singlequarter record 10.7 million cruise passengers visits, an increase of 9.9per cent or 900,000 more arrivals when compared to the same period in2018.
Due to its bullish economy, high consumer confidence and the strength ofthe U.S. dollar against global currencies , the United States was the strongest performinig market during the first quarter, with 4.5 millionb tourist visits, while Canada’s 1.5 million visits to the Caribbean represented a strong four per cent rise.
On the other hand, the performance of the European market was less encouraging, with arrivals up marginally by 0.6 per cent. Of the 1.6 million tourist arrivals from Europe during the first quarter, 300,000 came from the United Kingdom (up 0.1 per cent), while arrivals from Germany fell by 8.1 per cent to 200,000 tourist visits. The Caribbean (up 1.8 per cent) and Latin American (up 1.6 per cent) markets also recorded growth, although at a much slower pace that the major makets.
The overall healthy growth in both stayover and cruise visits, coupled with a 1.4 per cent rise in available airline seats durng first quarter of 2019 - bringing to 12.4 million the number of international seats
attracted to the region during the period - the CTO is bullish in its forecast for the year, predicting an eight per cent to nine per cent increase in tourist arrivals, along with 5.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent
growth in cruise arrivals.
