The outlook for Caribbean tourism in 2020 “remains strong,” according to the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. 

The association, which is convening its annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference in Nassau, The Bahamas this week, is reporting positive signs for the region’s most important industry. 

That includes a new record for average daily room rates in the Caribbean, which saw a 5.6 percent increase compared to 2018, according to Frank Comito, the CEO and Director General of the CHTA.

And the Caribbean saw the addition of 4,451 new rooms across the region, according to STR. 

Air arrivals to the Caribbean were up 4.4 percent, according to ForwardKeys, with particularly strong signs for the destinations impacted by the storms of 2017. 

The latter is a crucial step, with data showing that tourism performance and hotel inventory in most of the six major destinations hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria nearing pre-2017 levels. 

And results from the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Industry Performance and Outlook Study show a climate of positivity in the region as the Caribbean kicks off 2020. 

That includes a continued jump in capital spending by hotels, with two-thirds of hoteliers in the Caribbean reporting increases in capital expenditure — including a 61 percent increase compared to 2018. 

This is the 38th edition of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the regional industry’s most important tourism business event, held this year at the Baha Mar resort.

— CJ