The Caribbean wants to keep a larger share of tourism money: logistics hub announced as a tool for a turnaround in regional economies
The Caribbean Tourism Organization has launched a new phase of a regional initiative intended to strengthen local ownership of the tourism supply chain and keep a larger share of the revenue generated by visitor arrivals. According to an eTurboNews report from May 14, 2026, a meeting of the newly established Tourism Supply Committee was held in Antigua and Barbuda, and the discussion was led by Jamaica's Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett. At the center of the plan is the proposal for a Caribbean tourism logistics hub, envisioned as a regional mechanism for connecting hotels, the cruise industry, restaurants and attractions with domestic producers of food, beverages, goods, services and creative content.
The initiative builds on an earlier decision by the Caribbean Tourism Organization to manage the supply side of tourism more broadly and systematically. Jamaica's Ministry of Tourism announced in December 2025 that Bartlett had been appointed chairman of the CTO's new high-level committee, whose task is to develop a regional strategy to strengthen links between tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and creative industries. Such an approach, according to the explanation of the CTO and the Jamaican ministry, should reduce the outflow of money from the region and turn tourism spending into a more direct benefit for local communities, businesses and workers.
The plan comes at a time when tourism remains one of the key economic pillars of the Caribbean, but also a sector that shows structural weaknesses. According to CTO data, international tourist arrivals in the Caribbean increased in 2025 by 2.5 percent and reached an estimated 35 million visitors. At the same time, the Inter-American Development Bank warns in its latest regional review that Caribbean economies, despite resilience and the support of strong tourism demand, remain vulnerable to external shocks, changes in global supply chains, weaker labor markets in North America and natural disasters.
From tourist traffic to ownership of value
The mere fact that tourists arrive in large numbers does not mean that the largest share of the value created remains in the destination. Bartlett, according to the eTurboNews report, warned at the meeting in Antigua and Barbuda that Caribbean countries keep less than 20 cents of every tourism dollar because of dependence on imported goods and external supply chains. Jamaica Gleaner, citing the minister's statements, reported on May 12, 2026, that Jamaica currently keeps about 40 percent of tourism earnings, but that the target should be an increase to 50 to 60 percent.
That problem in the tourism economy is often described as revenue leakage. Hotels, cruise ships and other large systems can generate high guest spending, but a large share of the money leaves the local economy if food, beverages, equipment, consumables, vehicles, technology, insurance, financial services or marketing solutions are procured outside the country or region. In such a model, the destination receives employment and part of tax revenues, but misses the opportunity for tourism to become a stronger driver of local production, service exports and entrepreneurship.
Bartlett, according to a December 2025 announcement by Jamaica's Ministry of Tourism, described such a shift as a transition from leakage to linkage. The message is that tourism should not function as a separate sector relying on imports and external suppliers, but as a network that creates demand for domestic agriculture, fisheries, the food industry, furniture, textiles, transport, cultural content and digital services. If such links are systematically developed, tourism spending can spread economic effects beyond hotel zones and main tourist centers.
What the logistics hub should change
The proposed Caribbean tourism logistics hub should, according to available information, help regional suppliers meet tourism industry demand more efficiently. This would include better procurement planning, quality standardization, collecting data on demand, coordinating quantities and delivery deadlines, and creating channels through which local and regional goods can be placed more reliably with hotels, restaurants, cruise ships and other tourism business systems. In practice, such a model could be particularly important for small producers who individually struggle to fulfill large and constant orders, but could become more competitive through an organized system.
The Jamaican government had already previously announced the development of a logistics supply center for tourism and tourism-dependent countries in the region. According to a 2022 announcement by the Jamaica Information Service, Bartlett spoke at the time about the need to create a center in a free zone that would enable local suppliers to increase capacity and respond more quickly to supply disruptions. The CTO's new regional initiative places that concept in a broader Caribbean framework and links it with the discussion about who controls the value created by tourism.
Such a hub would not be important only for goods physically delivered to hotels and ports. Tourism today depends on a complex network of services, from transport and maintenance to cultural programs, digital promotion, food safety and waste management. According to the World Bank's approach to tourism, the sector can connect global demand with local suppliers through long value chains, including hospitality, transport, food systems, cultural services and retail. That is precisely why the discussion about logistics is not a technical question of warehouses and transport, but a question of industrial policy and the ability of economies to extract broader value from tourism.
The role of the IDB and the World Bank
One of the important elements of the new initiative is the announced support of international financial institutions. According to the eTurboNews report, the Inter-American Development Bank agreed to finance a specialized consultant who would conduct a regional study on the supply side of Caribbean tourism. The study should determine where the greatest revenue leakages occur, which products and services have the greatest potential for local or regional procurement, and what institutional and financial barriers exist for the inclusion of domestic suppliers.
According to the same report, a draft of the terms of reference for the consulting work is expected soon, and the contract should be finalized by the end of June 2026. The consulting analysis itself is expected to last approximately ten to twelve weeks. The IDB, according to available information, should continue talks with the CTO during Caribbean Week in New York in June 2026, where additional meetings of tourism leaders, institutions and the private sector are expected.
The World Bank, according to published information, has also confirmed its readiness to contribute to analytical work on the resilience of the Caribbean tourism sector, including sector alignment and gap analysis. This is important because Caribbean tourism depends not only on the number of visitors, but also on infrastructure, energy, water, transport, digital connectivity, resilience to climate risks and the ability of public institutions to coordinate a large number of stakeholders. In its general approach to tourism, the World Bank emphasizes that the benefits of the sector are not automatic and that sustainable results require resilient infrastructure, effective destination management and protection of environmental and cultural resources.
Caribbean vulnerability and the need for a regional approach
The Caribbean is among the regions of the world most dependent on tourism, which makes tourism revenues both an opportunity and a source of exposure. In June 2025, while presenting its Reimagine plan for Caribbean tourism, the CTO conveyed Bartlett's assessment that the region is the most tourism-dependent on the planet. In the same context, he called on regional leaders to align policies, move away from a narrow national approach and embrace regionalism. Such a message is especially relevant for supply chains, because individual small island economies often do not have a production base large enough to meet all the needs of the tourism industry on their own.
A regional approach can enable one country or territory to produce and deliver what it has an advantage in, while others participate in processing, distribution, services or logistics. This increases the chance that the tourism sector buys within the Caribbean instead of outside the region. For farmers, fishers, small food producers, craftspeople, transport operators and creative industries, this can open a more stable market, but only if issues of quality, production volume, certification, financing and delivery reliability are resolved.
In its latest review of Caribbean economies, the IDB warns that changes in global supply chains, investor caution and possible weakness in North American labor markets may put pressure on regional growth. The same institution states that tourism and energy have helped maintain economic stability in the region, but also that natural disasters, such as the recent impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica, can severely affect key sectors. In such an environment, strengthening local and regional supply can be both an economic and a security measure, because it reduces dependence on distant suppliers during periods of disruption.
Broader effects on jobs and local communities
If the initiative is implemented, its most important effect could be seen outside classic tourism jobs. The World Bank points out that tourism has a multiplier effect on employment because every direct job in tourism creates additional demand in supply chains and related services. This means that a larger share of local procurement can increase the value of work in agriculture, logistics, food processing, construction, maintenance, cultural activities and small service enterprises.
For Caribbean countries, this is especially important because tourism is often viewed through the number of arrivals, hotel occupancy and visitor spending, while less attention is devoted to who produces the goods and services that tourists consume. If hotels buy more local food, beverages, furniture, decoration and cultural programs, then the tourism dollar remains longer in the local economy. If, however, most key inputs are imported, growth in arrivals can increase turnover, but not necessarily the long-term productivity of domestic enterprises.
That is precisely why Bartlett, according to Jamaica Gleaner, emphasizes that the greatest economic opportunities of tourism are not found only in hotel rooms, but in the broad network of products and services that sustain the industry. In that interpretation, tourism wealth is found in the food visitors eat, the clothing and equipment used, vehicles and transport, attractions, experiences and all other elements that make up a trip. Such a perspective brings tourism closer to an industrial strategy: the goal is not only to bring in the guest, but to build a system in which the guest's spending drives domestic production.
Implementation challenges remain great
Despite political support and announced institutional assistance, implementing such a plan will not be simple. Caribbean countries differ in size, production capacity, transport connectivity, customs rules, food standards, public administration and access to financing. For the logistics hub to have an effect, it will be necessary to align public policies, create reliable demand data, help suppliers raise standards and ensure that large tourism buyers truly include regional products in their procurement chains.
A particular challenge will be the inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises. They often have products that may be attractive to the tourism industry, but they do not have the capital to increase production, storage, certification, packaging or continuous distribution. If the IDB study clearly shows where the greatest opportunities are, the next step will have to include financial instruments, training, technical assistance and contractual models that reduce the risk for small suppliers entering large procurement chains.
There is also the question of balance between efficiency and inclusiveness. Large tourism systems require stable prices, reliable quality and regular delivery, while the development of local suppliers may require time, investment and adaptation. If the initiative is reduced to only a few larger suppliers, the benefit could remain limited. If, however, the logistics model succeeds in connecting more countries, sectors and smaller producers, it could change the way tourism value is distributed within the region.
Tourism as a development platform, not only a source of arrivals
The CTO's broader Reimagine plan, according to the organization's announcement, emerged after more than two years of consultations, analyses and regional cooperation. Representatives of the organization described it as an action plan for progress, not only as a strategic document. Within that framework, the initiative to strengthen the supply side of tourism fits into a larger attempt to move Caribbean tourism away from relying on the quantity of arrivals and toward greater added value, resilience and regional self-determination.
For tourists, such changes may not be visible immediately, but for destination economies they can be decisive. More local food on hotel tables, more regional products in shops, more Caribbean creative content in programs and more local services behind the tourism experience mean that the same number of visitors can be turned into a greater development impact. This is especially important in a period in which destinations face climate risks, rising costs, pressure on infrastructure and increasing competition among global tourism regions.
According to currently available information, the initiative is still in the shaping phase, and key details will depend on the findings of the announced regional study, further talks with the IDB and the World Bank, and the readiness of CTO member states to align policies and implementation. Still, the very fact that the discussion is shifting from destination promotion to ownership of the supply chain shows a change in priorities. Caribbean tourism is no longer viewed only as an arrivals industry, but as a system in which it is decided how much of the created value will remain in the region that enables that tourism demand.
Sources:
- eTurboNews – report on the meeting of the Tourism Supply Committee, the proposal for a Caribbean tourism logistics hub and the announced support of the IDB and the World Bank (link)
- Ministry of Tourism, Government of Jamaica – announcement on the appointment of Edmund Bartlett as chairman of the CTO's new committee for the supply side of tourism and the goals of retaining a larger share of tourism revenues (link)
- Caribbean Tourism Organization – official information on the Reimagine plan and current CTO statistical data on tourist arrivals in the Caribbean (link)
- Inter-American Development Bank – regional economic review on the resilience of Caribbean economies, the role of tourism and risks to growth (link)
- World Bank Group – expert overview of the role of tourism in employment, value chains, local suppliers and inclusive economic development (link)
- Jamaica Gleaner – report on Bartlett's goal of increasing the retention of tourism earnings in Jamaica to 50 to 60 percent and the role of local production (link)