February 11, 2022
After almost two years of the pandemic, destinations are wary of making guarantees, and with good reason. But growing numbers of visitors and a sense that COVID-19 is moving from pandemic status, to endemic, has many Caribbean islands hopeful for the months to come.
While 2022 will likely shape up to be a strong recovery year, it’s 2023 and 2024 that hold the promise of pre-pandemic visitation levels, say the majority of Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) members.
Caribbean destinations including Montserrat, Anguilla, Jamaica and more took part in Day 2 of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s 2022 update, aimed at giving the latest updates on entry requirements, protocols, new developments, forecasts and more.
Almost without fail, when asked when they anticipated visitation returning to 2019 levels, they said 2023 or 2024. The good news is, many are optimistic that 2022 will be the start of that upswing, after a dismal 2020, and a stronger but turbulent 2021. CTO members taking part in Day 1 of the online event included Saint Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Kitts and more.
“Jamaica is well-positioned as a destination for a strong recovery,” says the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Director of Tourism, Donovan White. Jamaica reopened in June 2020. From January through November 2021, Jamaica welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors. An additional 217,000 visitors arrived on island in December 2021. “That puts us right on track for our 2021 projections. ”White made sure to thank all the travel advisors the JTB works with, and they are legion. “I’d like to give special thanks to our travel agent partners,” he said, adding that the Jamaica Travel Specialist program and One Love Rewards program have gotten a lot of traction throughout the pandemic.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Tourism minister also shared CTO’s optimism, calling this year’s summer season a “good” one. In a report by Antigua Observer, Charles Fernandez said that while there is still uncertainty on how the pandemic could affect the arrivals of tourists, the resurgence of in the nation’s tourism sector is there. “We are still looking forward to a good season [and] I think the best will be in the fourth quarter of 2022. I think, at that point in time – all going well, and we have Covid-19 behind us – it would really be great (for the sector),” Fernandez told the local daily. “We’re also anticipating, because of pent-up demand, that we may have a better-than-usual summer,” he added.
Fernandez also expressed his hopes that the numbers on the ships “could bump back up,” which is also a lucrative source of tourists to the islands.
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