Expedia: Strong Interest in Caribbean for Winter Travel
The Caribbean is seeing strong interest from travelers for the upcoming winter season, according to new data from travel giant Expedia.
Recent searches for the upcoming winter season have jumped by 15 percent, compared to what was already a strong final quarter in 2021.
Compared to 2019, before the pandemic, Caribbean searches are up by 30 percent, said Salim Arkuch, Expedia Group’s Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, who was speaking ahead of this past week’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference in San Juan.
The winter demand comes after the region saw a 60 percent jump in interest this summer compared to 2019 figures.
That interest was dominated by a pair of Caribbean hotspots: Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.
The US continues to be the strongest inbound market for the Caribbean, accounting for nearly 70 percent of total inbound searches for the region, according to Expedia.
The Caribbean, Arkuch said, is “shaping up to be a favorite by the end of 2022.”
That correlates with the trends the Caribbean has seen this year, where most destinations are either at or eclipsing their pre-pandemic tourism arrival totals.
