Regional tourist visits down 65 per cent, says CTO
TOURIST ARRIVALS to t he Caribbean fell by 65.5 per cent in 2020, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization, CTO, but the group is forecasting a turnaround this year.
In a statement released on Monday, the CTO said the impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry was particularly evident during the period of April to mid-June, when there was literally no activity in some destinations.
“This was characterised by empty hotels and restaurants, deserted attractions, shut borders, laid-off workers, grounded airlines and crippled cruise lines. While we saw some fluctuations in the levels of visitors for the remaining months of 2020, the influx of visitors has not reached levels even closely comparable to those being experienced prior to March 2020,” it said.
“In fact, some destinations remain closed to visitors, with limited airlift primarily for repatriation of locals and cargo.”
There was a 72 per cent slide to 8.5 million cruise visits in 2020, when compared to the 30 million visits in 2019. Cruise lines plying Caribbean routes remain nonoperational due to a strict ban imposed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CTO noted that with government restrictions both in the Caribbean and globally reducing and, in many cases, preventing travel for large periods of time, tourist arrivals to the region in 2020 fell to just over 11 million, a decline of 65.5 per cent when compared to the record 32 million tourist visits in 2019.
“Still, this was better than the world average of 73.9 per cent decline during the same period,” it said.
The CTO said a period of virtually no tourism began in mid-March, and the second quarter was the worst-performing, with arrivals down by 97.3 per cent. Tourists began visiting again in June as the sector began to reopen.
“Still, the fall-off in stay-over arrivals continued through to September – when a gradual reversal began – and continued right up to December. Destination initiatives such as the longstay work programmes, other promotional activities and efforts of regional organisations such as the CTO, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and the Caribbean Public Health agency, contributed to the gradual rise in arrivals,” the regional tourism organisation noted.
Like stay-over arrivals, cruise was buoyed by the performance in the first three months of 2020, particularly the month of February, when there was a 4.2 per cent rise in visits.
However, a 20.1 per cent fall in the first quarter was followed by no activity for the remainder of the year as ships remained nonoperational. The overall result was a 72 per cent slide to 8.5 million cruise visits, when compared to the 30 million visits in 2019.
The limited travel beyond the first two and a half months of the year, resulted in difficulties in compiling visitor expenditure numbers in 2020.
However, based on information derived from international partners such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and limited reporting by Caribbean countries, the CTO estimated that across the region, visitor expenditure declined by 60 to 80 per cent, in line with the decline in stay-over and cruise arrivals.
Preliminary data indicate that the average length of stay for 2020 remained at roughly seven nights, the same as in 2019.
In its forecast, the CTO said the Caribbean’s performance in 2021 will depend largely on the success of the authorities in the marketplace and the region in controlling the virus, and a resurgence in travel confidence.
The CTO said its initial forecast is for a 20 per cent rise in arrivals in 2021, with a similar increase in visitor expenditure relative to 2020.