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February 13, 2015 By: Newswire
The Caribbean welcomed a record 26.3 million tourists in 2014, a 5.3 percent rise over the previous year, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). These visitors spent $29.5 billion, which is also a record.
Richard Sealy, chairman of the CTO, High Riley, the CTO’s secretary and Winfield Griffith, the CTO’s director of research, announced the record performance at a news conference streamed live to a global audience from the CTO headquarters this week.
“There was strong demand throughout 2014 and I am particularly pleased with our performance during the summer period when our growth rate was almost twice that of the summer of 2013,” Sealy said in a written release.
The 26.3 million visitors represent 1.3 million more than in 2013, itself a record year for the Caribbean. These visitors contributed a record $29.2 billion to Caribbean economies, a 3.9 percent rise over the $28 billion that visitors spent in 2013.
The U.S. continues to be the region’s primary market, with nearly 13 million Americans – or just under half of the total arrivals – to the region. Canada rallied from a flat performance in 2013 to post a 5.7 percent increase, while Europe topped five million visitors for the first time since 2008, registering a 4.6 percent increase over 2013.
“There’s no doubt that political and economic conditions, increased airline seat capacity, improved airport facilities, increased room stock – as recognized hotel chains established themselves in our destinations – and new initiatives in the marketplace, all contributed to this success,” said Riley.
Visit www.onecaribbean.org
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