The Caribbean Tourism Organisation is predicting a rebound in visitor arrivals in 2010 after strong figures for the last quarter of 2009.
A total of 22.1 million people travelled to the region in 2009, down from 22.9 million the year before.
The first quarter of 2009 saw a 6.6% visitor decline but that figure dropped to 6% in the second quarter, 2% in the third quarter and then actually saw an increase in year-over-year visitation of 1% in the fourth quarter.
The CTO is expecting tourism to grow by up to 3% this year as the global economy starts to improve. The organisation is also buoyed by the cruise sector’s positive figures. Cruise visitor arrivals increased 1.4% in 2009 after a 3% decline in 2008, thanks to strong marketing and offers from cruise operators.
