Caribbean Tourism Organization Reports Increase in Arrivals

Tourist arrivals to 23 of 33 member countries of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) increased 4.5 percent in the first four months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009, according to CTO officials, who spoke at a press conference in New York as part of Caribbean Week.

The figures include a 6.5 percent increase in U.S. arrivals, which CTO Chairman Hugh Riley called “the most reassuring performance of all the major markets.” During the same period, arrivals from Canada slowed, growing by only 1 percent, and European arrivals fell by 4.3 percent.

The Caribbean sub-region represented by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) recorded a 3.3 percent growth in tourist arrivals, led by increases in Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbuda.

Barbados and “the larger CARICOM countries” recorded a 5 percent increase in tourist arrivals, led by Jamaica, with growth of just under 10 percent. The Dominican Republic (2 percent), Puerto Rico (8.8 percent) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (11.5 percent) each recorded tourist arrival increases during the first four months of 2010.