Hicran
January 30, 2010

After taking a flogging last year, the Caribbean tourism industry is looking toward an improvement in 2010 despite concerns about a British-imposed environmental tax and crime against tourists on some islands.

Earthquake-hit Haiti has not been a major tourist destination, except for Royal Caribbean’s RCL.N private Labadee beach resort on the north coast, which was spared from damage.

But most other Caribbean islands depend heavily on tourism for revenue and jobs, and reported declines last year as the global economic crisis and credit crunch kept Europeans and North Americans at home.

The tourism minister in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Allan Chastanet, said he has been meeting with airline officials and arranging for additional flights.

“We will probably end the year 5.6 percent down but we’re looking for a strong rebound in 2010,” Chastanet told Reuters during Caribbean Marketplace, an annual event hosted by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association which brings together hoteliers and suppliers.

St. Lucia received 360,000 stayover visitors — those who spend money on hotel rooms and on restaurants — and saw a 15 percent increase in cruise arrivals.

Tobago, the smaller sister island of Trinidad, suffered significant declines in tourist arrivals from their major UK market and also from Germany.

“The economic situation globally impacted negatively on Tobago. Hotels reported as much as a 40 percent decline in stayover, particularly from the British and the German markets,” said hotelier Rene Seepersadsingh.