Jun 2010 Financial News

Tourist arrivals continue to increase, says CTO head

Jun 16, 2010

NEW YORK, USA (CMC) — The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) says tourist arrivals in the region is on the rebound with aggregate visitors to the wider Caribbean, as gauged by recorded arrivals from 23 of the 33 CTO member-countries, increasing by 4.5 per cent so far in 2010.

In an overview of the regional industry the CTO said activity in the US market has resurged "admirably", recording a 6.5 per cent increase in the first four months of this year.

The CTO said the US has been the "most reassuring performance" of all the major markets.

In contrast, the Canadian market has slowed down, up just one per cent so far this year.

"This was a reversal in the direction and magnitude observed in that market, which remained robust throughout the quarters of last year, when the global economic crisis was at its deepest," said the CTO.

It said European markets are doing "very poorly", as their economies continue to reel under the pressure of the monetary and financial crisis brought about by the global economic depression, aggravated by the Icelandic volcanic ash and industrial unrest in the major UK airline industry.

The CTO said arrivals declined 4.3 per cent for Europe as a whole, declaring that this situation is not expected to ease up in the coming summer, as unemployment in these economies remains high and consumer confidence is low.

It said the Euro is also almost 25 per cent lower in value, vis-a-vis the US dollar, when the present rates are compared with those during this period two years ago.

"In total, improving arrivals reveal a scenario of hope," said the CTO, noting that arrival activity showed signs of rapid recovery after double digit declines in the "troughs of the global economic crisis last year".

"Those countries heavily dependent on the European market are in for a bumpy ride in light of the current European economic realities," it said.

The CTO disclosed that the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) was hardest hit by reduced arrivals, showing an overall 12.3 per cent decline in 2009.

It said moderate recovery took place in the first quarter of 2010, driven mainly by increases in St Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda to a lesser extent.

Overall, however, it said there was a 3.3 per cent growth in this grouping over the period — "a significant turnabout from this time last year".

But the CTO said Barbados and the larger Caribbean Community countries fared relatively better than the smaller ones.

"As a group, these countries recorded over five per cent increase in traffic for the first four months, with Jamaica leading the charge with just under 10 per cent growth," it said.

"Most countries in this group have moved in a positive direction in the first quarter," it added.

The CTO said the Dutch Caribbean territories show a marginal rise in arrivals, driven mostly by St Maarten and Aruba the most dominant nations in that group.

For the other countries, it said Cuba was "flat" during the first four months (zero per cent) due mainly to the slowdown in Canadian and European travel.

Dominican Republic showed a slight rise (2.0 per cent), Puerto Rico (8.8 per cent) and the US Virgin Island (11.5 per cent) "relatively good performances under the circumstances".

"All available evidence suggests that visitor arrivals have recovered much ground over the past three months," the CTO said.

"The outlook for this year is mixed with those depending on the US markets having better prospects than those accessing the bulk of their business from Europe," it added.

(CMC)


Source:
Jamaica Observer
Wednesday June 16, 2010

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Tourist-arrivals-continue-to-increase-says-CTO-head_7706778