Friday, April 24, 2009Tourism Suffering From Economic Fallout

caribbean360.comCaribbean Tourism Suffering From Economic Fallout

Caribbean nations, with the exception of Jamaica and Cuba, have all reported a decline in tourist arrivals to their islands for the first quarter of 2009, latest tourism statistics show.

The latest data released this week by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) shows that out of 12 countries reporting latest statistics for the first two months of this year, five reported double digit losses.

Anguilla suffered the biggest blow out of the twelve, reporting a drop by 18.8 per cent, followed closely by Antigua and Barbuda which reported losses of 14.3 per cent. St. Lucia is hoping to turn around its fortunes with its jazz festival as the report showed the island suffered a 13.7 per cent drop in tourist levels for the first quarter of 2009.

British dependent territories, Cayman Islands and Montserrat, also reported declines of 11.3 and 11.6 per cent respectively.

Tourism in the United States Virgin Islands fell by 6.1 per cent while Puerto Rico reported a drop of 4.7 per cent. The Dominican Republic was close behind with a drop-off of 4.4 per cent while Belize reported a decline of just 2.4 per cent.

Jamaica and Cuba, however, reported gains over the past winter season. Cuba saw a 4.5 per cent tourism growth while the industry in Jamaica grew by 3.2 per cent.

There was no data available for other Caribbean nations, the report indicated.

The Caribbean tourism industry has been taking a beating since the global economic recession hit the US, the region's biggest market.

The drop-off also comes as the countdown continues for the full implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require that all US residents travelling to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada and Mexico have a passport in order to return to the country.

That will take effect on June 1st.

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