Caribbean Tourism “Robust and Resilient”

By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Caribbean tourism is “robust and resilient,” according to Frank Comito, the chief executive officer of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Comito, who was speaking at this week’s CHRIS investment conference in Miami, said the region’s chief economic driver was continuing to grow.

Overall, the region has seen an “exceptional” 2019 so far, growth that includes the Caribbean hotel sector, where four out of every five hotels in the Caribbean reporting a net profit in 2018, according to Comito.

That’s up from three out of four several years ago, he said.

It’s part of a strong recovery from the storms of 2017 in the region.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for growth.

Indeed, the Caribbean still has more than 80,000 vacant hotel rooms every night; filling just 10 percent of those rooms would inject nearly $2 billion annually into the Caribbean economy, Comito said.

— CJ