Caribbean tourism has excelled at rebounding post-pandemic, but there are other factors at play that could slow the tourism sector this year.

“We see great, great strides for Caribbean
tourism, but we are facing some challenges,” said Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, after the CHTA released findings from its member survey last week. “We have
headwinds that are still impacting the industry, and we have to continue
to watch this, especially if there is any sort of inflationary or
recessionary movements in our source markets.”

The February 2023 survey included close to 100 businesses, with 77% representing the accommodations sector and the rest from of other tourism-related sectors, including attractions, tour operators and restaurants.

The CHTA survey asked respondents what they felt motivated people to visit the Caribbean or discouraged them from doing so. Island hospitality and friendliness as well as cleanliness topped the pros list, while concerns of reasonably priced airfare and availability as well safety were on the cons list.

The survey also concluded that most business owners and operators expect profits to mirror those of 2022. But they also expect higher operating costs and expect to keep prices fixed or marginally raise them. Many companies are paying off pandemic-incurred debt or are investing in improvements to their businesses.

Most hotel respondents expect occupancy rates and ADR to continue to rise. More than half of employers anticipate increasing their workforce this year, despite labor shortages being one of the top concerns.

Other issues cited in the survey include rising operating costs, taxes and duties, poor infrastructure including roads, airports and ports, insufficient destination marketing, climate change and sargassum, whose 5,000-mile-wide buildup this year could be the largest on record; what destinations will be affected is still uncertain.

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