The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projects that, by the end of this year, the Caribbean travel and tourism sector will contribute more than US$91,000,000 million to its GDP, exceeding last year’s figure by 7.4%.
According to the Economic Impact Research (EIR) 2024, prepared by the global tourism body in association with Oxford Economics, by the close of 2024, the sector will account for nearly 3 million jobs in the region, or 15.7% of all jobs in the Caribbean.
Spending by international visitors is expected to reach US$45,000,000 million, an 8.8% growth compared to 2023 levels.
The global body forecasts domestic tourism spending to reach an all-time high of US$22.4 billion, or a 3.7% increase versus 2019.
A LOOK BACK TO 2023
According to WTTC analysis, in 2023 the Caribbean travel and tourism sector recorded a contribution of US$85 billion to the regional economy, or an increase of 14.5% over the previous year. Last year, the sector accounted for 11.4% of the regional economy.
During 2023, the activity also strengthened its labor force with more than 190 thousand additional jobs over the previous year, reaching a total of 2.75 million jobs throughout the Caribbean.
International spending continued to grow and reached US$41.4 billion, or 18.5% above 2022.
Domestic tourism spending was US$21.4 billion, up 7.1% over the previous year, and only 0.8% below the 2019 figure.
In that regard, Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the WTTC, said, “The tourism sector is key to the Caribbean, both economically and socially, being an instrumental driver for the millions of lives it supports.
“The numbers show incredible resilience on the part of tourism in the region, creating thousands of jobs and making a significant economic contribution,” she added.
Source:Arecoa.com
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