The Caribbean is leading the global rebound in travel, according to new data from analytics firm ForwardKeys.
International arrivals to the Caribbean for the first two months of 2023 are down by only one percent compared to the same period in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.
That is significantly better than competing tourism regions around the world: Europe is showing a 25 percent lag compared to the same period in 2019, while the Asia-Pacific region is 54 percent behind.
Total international inbound traffic worldwide is trailing by 31 percent in the period — meaning the Caribbean is showing the strongest rebound in travel.
“These are impressive results for our region,” said Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, for which ForwardKeys is a strategic data partner.
The United States Virgin Islands is showing the strongest increase in international travel, with a 22 percent improvement over the first two months of 2019.
That is followed by St Maarten at 18 recent and Guadeloupe and Turks and Caicos, both of which are tied at 18 percent.
While the United States and Canada continue to dominate International arrivals to the Caribbean, the region is starting to see a growing component of travelers from South America.
That includes Colombia, which is sending 50 percent more travelers to the Caribbean; and Argentina, with 15 percent growth.
Demand for this spring and summer in the Caribbean is projected to surpass 2019 levels, according to ForwardKeys.
That includes a projection of spring arrivals to grow by 20 percent, with summer arrivals forecasting a 48 percent jump.
The news comes ahead of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s annual tourism gathering in Barbados next month, Caribbean Travel Marketplace.
For more, visit the Caribbean Travel Marketplace.