International travel arrivals to the Caribbean region increased by 14.3% in 2023, continuing the sector’s positive recovery trend, reported the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
CTO secretary general Dona Regis-Prosper attributed the result to sustained travel demand from the United States, the Caribbean’s top outbound market, and improved tourism-related infrastructure at destinations.
He explained that “the increase was also due to strategic marketing initiatives and increased airlift capacity between the region and its outbound markets, albeit unevenly distributed among destinations.”
“Tourist visits were approximately 32.2 million, about four million more than in 2022,” said
Market Performance
Regis-Prosper also said the Caribbean exceeded pre-pandemic arrivals by a modest 0.8%.
“The eleven destinations that moderately exceeded 2019 benchmark figures are: RD, Anguilla, Aruba, Curacao, , Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands,” he added.
He indicated that “it is estimated that 16.3 million arrivals to the region will come from the United States in 2023, representing an annual growth rate of 12.7%”.
In that regard, he said the performance of the Canadian market resulted in approximately three million Canadian tourist visits by the end of the year, an increase of 46.1 % 
compared to 2022.
“Increased air service from major Canadian cities to Caribbean destinations played a key role in the increase in visitor numbers,” he detailed.
He reported that “arrivals from Europe stagnated, with a total of approximately 5.2 million trips, and those from South America increased by 14%, for a tally of 1.7 million trips,” according to EFE.
Source: Arecoa.com
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