Strong-looking tourism season for Caribbean - but few dollars are retained

Caribbean tourism is logging its strongest hotel performance in years, with regional stay-over arrivals reaching an estimated 35 million in 2025 — a 2.5% increase year-on-year, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data — while cruise visits climbed 5.2% to approximately 35.5 million. 

After nine consecutive months of occupancy declines across 2025, Caribbean hotels snapped back sharply: January 2026 occupancy hit 71.4%, February reached 76.5%, and March surged to 79% — the highest single-month reading since at least 2022 among the roughly 2,000 properties tracked by STR, representing a 6.5 percentage-point year-on-year jump.

Barbados recorded 727,310 stay-over visitors in 2025, up 3.3% from 2024, with US arrivals rising 8.1% and cruise passengers jumping 12.9% to 702,278, though European arrivals dipped 3.4%. 

Jamaica welcomed more than one million visitors in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The Cayman Islands posted a 10%-plus visitor increase in February.

The CHTA–Amadeus 2026 Caribbean Travel Trends Report, unveiled at Caribbean Travel Forum in Antigua, shows overseas demand grew just 1% year-on-year between April 2025 and March 2026 — a sharp moderation from 21% and 8% gains in prior years — but identifies Latin America as a breakout growth engine, with demand up 24% overall and premium travel from South America surging 117%. 

Peru led with 192% growth in premium bookings, followed by Argentina at 164%. Smaller destinations also outperformed: Dominica grew 22% and St Maarten 18%.

At Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2026 in Antigua, Jamaica's Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett disclosed that the Caribbean retains only 15 to 20 cents of every tourism dollar spent — the lowest retention rate in the world.

• Caribbean stay-over arrivals reached ~35 million in 2025, up 2.5% year-on-year (CTO data) • Cruise visits rose 5.2% to ~35.5 million in 2025 • Hotel occupancy declined for nine consecutive months in 2025 before rebounding • March 2026 hotel occupancy hit 79% — highest since at least 2022 — up 6.5 percentage points year-on-year (STR via Caribbean Journal) • Barbados recorded 727,310 stay-over visitors in 2025, up 3.3%; cruise passengers up 12.9% to 702,278 • Jamaica surpassed 1 million visitors in Q1 2026 • Overseas Caribbean demand grew just 1% YOY (April 2025–March 2026) per CHTA–Amadeus report • Latin American demand up 24% YOY; South American premium travel up 117% • Dominica led destination growth at 22%; Sint Maarten at 18% • Caribbean retains only 15–20 cents of every tourism dollar — lowest retention rate globally (Bartlett)

The convergence of rebounding hotel occupancy, a Latin American demand surge, and external shocks redirecting Canadians and some US travellers toward the Caribbean gives the region genuine momentum heading into the 2026 peak season. However, the structural issue — that the Caribbean may retain only about 15 to 20 cents of each tourism dollar, a level Bartlett described as among the lowest in the world — means that headline arrival numbers will continue to flatter the region's actual economic gains unless supply-side reform accelerates.

"STR data cited by Caribbean Journal indicate that March 2026 hotel occupancy reached 79% — higher than in any single month since at least 2022 among the roughly 2,000 Caribbean hotels it tracks, representing a 6.5 percentage-point year-on-year increase."

— STR hotel performance data, via Caribbean Journal

Caribbean tourism has rarely told such a contradictory story in a single season. After nine consecutive months of hotel occupancy declines through 2025, the region's roughly 2,000 tracked properties swung sharply upward — posting 71.4% occupancy in January 2026, 76.5% in February, then a striking 79% in March, the highest single-month reading since at least 2022. Stay-over arrivals reached an estimated 35 million last year, up 2.5%, while cruise visits climbed 5.2% to approximately 35.5 million.

Yet beneath the headline rebound, the 2026 CHTA–Amadeus Travel Trends Report signals a market in transition: overall overseas demand grew just 1% year-on-year — a sharp drop from gains of 21% and 8% in prior years. The standout story is Latin America, where demand surged 24%, with South American premium bookings up 117%. Peru led with 192% growth in premium travel; Argentina followed at 164%.

Meanwhile, Caribbean leaders gathered at Travel Marketplace 2026 in Antigua to confront an older wound: the region retains only 15 to 20 cents of every tourism dollar spent — the lowest retention rate in the world, according to Jamaica's Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

Optimistic — the numbers signal a genuine strategic turning point: Destang argues that the combination of rising Latin American demand, record premium travel bookings, and cultural events like CARIFESTA XV driving longer stays represents a qualitatively new chapter for Caribbean tourism — one where data-driven targeting can convert the region's unmatched appeal into lasting community prosperity.

Reformist — arrivals mean little without radical supply-side change: Ed Bartlett, Jamaica's minister of tourism, insists the region has mastered demand-generation but still cedes ownership of supply. He is championing a CTO committee to build regional supply chains, scale local producers, and potentially develop Caribbean-owned digital marketing platforms so more of the tourism dollar stays in the region.

Critical — luxury tourism reproduces colonial extraction: Researchers argue that the Caribbean's hotel, cruise and booking ecosystem — largely foreign-owned — constitutes a 'rebranded plantation economy built for leisure instead of sugar', with roughly 80 cents of every tourist dollar still leaving the region and local communities losing access to land and public spaces.

"The supply side must now be owned by the people of the Caribbean so that the wealth of tourism can be retained in the Caribbean."

— Edmund Bartlett, Tourism Minister, Jamaica, via The Gleaner