Bartlett calls on CARICOM to treat tourism as the economic backbone of the Caribbean
Jamaican Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has called on CARICOM to formally place tourism among the highest regional economic priorities, arguing that it is a sector which, for the Caribbean, is not only an important export activity, but also the foundation of employment, investment, foreign-exchange earnings and broader economic resilience. His statement comes ahead of Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2026, held from May 12 to 15 in Antigua and Barbuda, bringing together tourism suppliers, hotels, destinations, tour operators, airlines and other partners from the international tourism industry. Bartlett, according to available information from the event announcement and statements connected with regional tourism discussions, advocates that tourism in CARICOM should not be viewed separately by country, but as a shared strategic sector that requires aligned policies, stable investment frameworks, better connectivity and planning for resilience to crises.
The message is especially important because Caribbean states, although economically different, rely heavily on travel, the hotel industry, cruises, air transport, hospitality and related services. According to data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the region recorded around 34.2 million international overnight tourist arrivals in 2024, which was 6.1 percent more than in 2023 and 6.9 percent above the 2019 level. The same organization states that the cruise segment reached 33.7 million visits, with growth of 10.3 percent compared with the previous year. Such data give additional weight to Bartlett's demand that tourism should not be treated only as a marketing topic, but as regional economic infrastructure.
Why stronger coordination is being sought from CARICOM
Bartlett's call to CARICOM is directed at the idea that tourism in the Caribbean already functions as a shared economic system, although policies are often shaped at the level of individual states. Hotels, ports, airlines, supply chains, the workforce, cultural offerings and safety standards cross national borders, while international demand for the region is often shaped through the perception of the Caribbean as a single space. Precisely for that reason, according to Bartlett's position, regional cooperation must be more than occasional promotion of a common brand. It should include the harmonization of investment rules, coordination during crises, stronger connections between destinations and joint representation of the interests of Caribbean states in global tourism markets.
CARICOM has already been established as a framework for regional economic integration, and official community data state that the CARICOM Single Market and Economy is designed as a single economic space for the free movement of goods, capital, services, skilled nationals and the right of establishment. In such a framework, tourism naturally emerges as a sector in which the advantages of integration can be seen more quickly than in some other areas. Common standards, easier operations for tourism companies, more efficient movement of experts and coordinated investments in transport connectivity could, according to the logic of such an approach, increase benefits for the entire region.
The problem is that dependence on tourism also means exposure. In its review for 2024 and 2025, the Caribbean Development Bank states that regional growth, excluding Guyana, was moderate and that tourism and construction remained important drivers of activity. The same document warns of the region's vulnerability to natural hazards, geopolitical tensions, slowdowns in key export markets and trade disruptions. Bartlett's demand for a coordinated strategy can therefore also be read as a response to the fact that shocks do not stop at state borders: hurricanes, changes in energy prices, disruptions in air traffic or falling demand from major markets can affect several destinations at the same time.
Tourism has recovered, but the challenges have not disappeared
Data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization show that 2024 was a year of strong recovery and growth. The Dominican Republic remained the most visited Caribbean destination with around 8.5 million tourist arrivals, and Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Aruba and Puerto Rico were also among the leading destinations. According to the CTO, those six destinations together accounted for approximately 56 percent of all tourist arrivals in the region. At the same time, some smaller destinations, such as Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize and Curaçao, achieved extremely high growth rates compared with the year before, showing that the recovery was not limited only to the largest markets.
However, recovery does not remove the need for caution. In its report, the CTO stated that continued growth was expected in 2025, but at a more moderate pace because of economic uncertainties and slower movements in some major source markets. The organization estimated that overnight tourist arrivals could increase by between 2 and 5 percent, to approximately 35 million, while growth of 5 to 7 percent was expected for the cruise segment. Such projections point to stable demand, but also to the need not to take growth for granted.
It is precisely in this context that Bartlett's insistence on resilience should be viewed. The Caribbean is exposed to hurricanes, rising insurance costs, pressures on coastal infrastructure, changes in air traffic and competition from other tourism regions. According to the Caribbean Development Bank, natural hazards remain one of the key risks to the region's economic outlook. If tourism infrastructure is rebuilt only after a crisis, costs are higher and recovery is slower. If resilience is planned in advance, through building standards, crisis funds, job protection and market diversification, damage to economies and local communities can be smaller.
Caribbean Travel Marketplace as a place for sectoral agreement
Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2026 is being held in Antigua and Barbuda from May 12 to 15, 2026, and according to the organizers' announcement, the event enables suppliers from the Caribbean tourism industry to meet directly with wholesale partners and travel sellers from around the world. The fair is not only a sales platform for hotel contracts and travel packages. In circumstances of changing travel habits, climate risks and increasing competition, such gatherings increasingly also serve as a space for aligning policies, discussing investments and strengthening the regional negotiating position.
For Bartlett, this is an appropriate moment to raise the issue of tourism to the level of political coordination. If the region approaches international airlines, investors, insurers and global tourism intermediaries in a fragmented way, individual states can achieve good individual results, but the overall regional effect remains weaker. On the other hand, a coordinated approach could help spread the benefits of tourism to smaller islands, rural communities, local food suppliers, cultural workers and small entrepreneurs. This is especially important in destinations where a large share of tourism spending can leak out of the local economy if domestic value chains are not sufficiently developed.
Bartlett's emphasis on investment frameworks also relates to the question of what kind of tourism the region wants to build. The region can attract capital for large hotel complexes, cruise terminals and transport infrastructure, but long-term sustainability depends on whether investments are connected with local employment, coastal protection, supply from local agriculture, workforce education and the preservation of cultural heritage. According to the CHTA's review of industry trends for 2024 and expectations for 2025, the sector's concerns include labour shortages, natural disasters, crime, negative regional publicity, supply-chain disruptions and insufficient attention to regional marketing. These are precisely the areas in which isolated national measures are often not enough.
The Jamaican experience shapes Bartlett's message
Bartlett speaks from the perspective of a country in which tourism has major economic and political significance. In its announcements during 2026, Jamaica's Ministry of Tourism emphasized the recovery of tourism activities after Hurricane Melissa and the importance of confidence in the destination. According to the ministry's announcements, tourism activities on Jamaica's south coast were again taking place with a visible recovery of hotels and attractions, and the sector was presented as an example of resilience after a natural disaster. Such a context explains why Bartlett connects regional tourism policy with crisis planning, investor confidence and the rapid restoration of capacity after disruptions.
His broader argument is not limited to Jamaica. When one major destination faces an interruption of air routes, damage to hotels or a change in the perception of safety, the consequences can spill over to neighbouring markets. Travellers often do not precisely distinguish between individual islands in crisis situations, and the negative image of one destination can affect demand for the entire region. For that reason, the demand for regional cooperation also concerns crisis communication: fast, accurate and coordinated information can prevent the spread of inaccurate impressions and help destinations that are not affected maintain market confidence.
Transport connectivity remains one of the key obstacles
One of the most sensitive issues in Caribbean tourism is transport connectivity. The region is heavily dependent on air routes from the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America, while travel between individual Caribbean destinations is often expensive, complex or inconvenient in terms of time. According to CTO data, intra-Caribbean travel in 2024 did grow by 5.1 percent compared with 2023, but it was still at 79.2 percent of the pre-pandemic level from 2019. This figure shows that the regional market is recovering more slowly than total international arrivals.
For CARICOM, transport connectivity is not only a tourism issue. It affects trade, education, business travel, sport, culture and political integration. In tourism terms, weaker connectivity limits the development of multi-destination travel, reduces the possibility of spreading visitors more evenly and makes it harder to jointly position the Caribbean as a region with diverse experiences. If a traveller can easily combine Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Lucia or other destinations, the benefit can spread to several economies. If such travel is too expensive or logistically demanding, most demand remains concentrated in a few of the most accessible markets.
Growth must include local communities
Although tourism is often measured by arrivals, hotel occupancy and visitor spending, the question of how much benefit remains with local communities is becoming increasingly important. Bartlett's call for CARICOM to formally recognize tourism as the regional economic backbone makes sense only if such recognition is translated into policies that increase local value. This includes connecting hotels with domestic food producers, better inclusion of small businesses in tourism chains, support for cultural and creative industries, and training workers for higher-paid jobs in the sector.
According to the CHTA's industry review, one of the risks to tourism results also relates to a lack of local agricultural suppliers and supply-chain disruptions. This points to a broader problem: tourism can generate high spending, but its effect on the domestic economy depends on how capable local sectors are of delivering the goods and services demanded by the tourism industry. If hotels import most food, equipment and professional services, the multiplier effect of tourism is weaker. If local suppliers develop together with tourism demand, tourism can become a stronger support for agriculture, crafts, transport and creative services.
A regional strategy as a test of political will
Bartlett's call to CARICOM raises the question of political will for deeper tourism integration. Formal recognition of tourism as the Caribbean's largest economic driver would be symbolically important, but the real effect will depend on concrete decisions. These include joint collection and exchange of data, coordinated promotion, investment standards, crisis protocols, a more harmonized approach to air transport, educational programmes and instruments for financing resilience. Without such measures, a regional strategy would remain a political message, not an operational tool.
CARICOM's existing framework for the single market shows that the institutional basis exists, but tourism requires rapid and practical application. Tourism markets change faster than many regulatory processes: travellers increasingly seek flexibility, authentic experiences, safety, sustainability and good digital accessibility. At the same time, destinations compete for airlines, investments and workers. A region that succeeds in aligning its policies can negotiate more easily with global partners and reduce the risk that states compete with one another in a way that weakens the entire space in the long term.
Caribbean Travel Marketplace therefore comes at a moment when the numbers confirm recovery, but also when it is increasingly clear that recovery is not the same as resilience. Bartlett's message to CARICOM can be reduced to a demand that tourism stop being treated as a sector that is activated only in promotional campaigns and crisis seasons. If tourism is truly the economic backbone of the Caribbean, then it must have a place at the centre of regional planning, from budgets and transport to education, the environment and foreign policy. For Caribbean governments, tourism companies and local communities, the key question is no longer only how many visitors will come, but whether growth will be sufficiently coordinated, resilient and inclusive to benefit the region in the long term.
Sources:
- Ministry of Tourism of Jamaica – official announcements and context on Minister Edmund Bartlett and the recovery of Jamaica's tourism sector (link)
- Caribbean Tourism Organization – data on tourist arrivals, cruise visits, main markets and growth projections for the Caribbean (link)
- Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2026 / Breaking Travel News – dates, venue and description of the business tourism fair in Antigua and Barbuda (link)
- Caribbean Development Bank – regional economic review 2024-2025 and risk assessments for Caribbean economies (link)
- CARICOM – official description of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and the institutional framework of regional integration (link)
- Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association – review of tourism industry performance in 2024 and expectations for 2025, including risks for the sector (link)