Threats Challenge Surging Caribbean Tourism
Caribbean tourism leads the industry’s global recovery but remains challenged by rising operating costs, labor shortages, increasing airfares, global competition, economic uncertainty and “pressures from some governments to increase taxes,” said Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) officials.
Reporting results from CHTA’s annual tourism industry performance and outlook survey this week, officials are “bullish” regarding the future of tourism in the Caribbean despite the varied challenges.
Respondents to CHTA’s February survey identified “airlift cost and availability, taxes and duties, labor shortages, crime and safety, and poor infrastructure,” as primary concerns.
CHTA surveyed “just under” 100 businesses, 77 percent of whom represent hospitality providers. The remaining 23 percent consists of tourism-related firms including attractions, tour operators and restaurants.
Other concerns identified by survey respondents include “challenges from environmental degradation, such as climate change, sargassum, and waste management.”
“While we’ve turned the pandemic corner, we’re not out of the woods yet,” said Nicola Madden-Greig, CHTA’s president. “Many businesses are still climbing out of massive debts and facing global competitive pressures on price increases,” she said. “Now is not the time to increase taxes as we are hearing from several countries.”
CHTA’s survey also found tourism companies are “forgoing higher profits and plowing returns into covering debt incurred during the pandemic” and “investing in product improvements as capital expenditures soar,” said officials.
Madden-Greig additionally added that “public-private sector collaboration” is required to address “challenges [including] stimulating greater intra-regional travel.”
“Another key concern of tourism stakeholders is insufficient destination marketing,” said Madden-Greig, adding “concerns still remain about the lack of a more strategic regional marketing approach.”
She added CHTA officials will take the issue “under advisement” with CHTA’s “public-sector ally, the Caribbean Tourism Organization.”