BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Secretary General of the Barbados based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Hugh Riley says the organisation has declared 2018 the Year of Wellness and Rejuvenation in the Caribbean.

Riley announced the theme for next year at a news conference in Toronto on Monday as part of the programme for Caribbean Week Canada 2017.

With wellness and rejuvenation being important aspects of the Caribbean tourism product offering, the CTO is encouraging member countries and private sector partners to plan and organise events and activities around the theme that will appeal to consumers, travel agents and tour operators.

“For those who focus on renewing body and spirit, the options are virtually endless; from beachfront workouts and yoga retreats, to wellness resorts and spa treatments, the notion of being rejuvenated in the Caribbean is one more reason to let us pamper you in 2018,” the secretary general said.

“The region’s diverse tropical landscape with mountain ranges, valleys and volcanoes, provide excellent opportunities for a variety of ages and physical abilities. Individual trekking, group hiking, health walks, fun-runs, marathons and a range of water-based health-related activities are held throughout the year in our CTO member-countries.”

The global wellness sector is a US$3.72 trillion industry, according to the Global Wellness Institute, a Miami, Florida-based non-profit-making organisation that provides global research and insight into the wellness industry.

The 2018 Caribbean Year of Wellness and Rejuvenation will be promoted through social media and traditional media channels and will create opportunities for travellers and holiday planners to share their experiences and ideas of how to welcome visitors to the region for wellness and rejuvenation.

Through the campaign, CTO, its member countries and private sector partners will highlight the Caribbean as the leading choice for wellness and rejuvenation.

At the briefing, Riley also announced that the Canadian market was a strong performer during the first half of 2017, with arrivals up by 6.4 per cent over the corresponding period last year, and is expected to continue to register growth this year despite the hurricanes which impacted about 25 per cent of CTO member countries.

“The Conference Board of Canada is predicting that decent capacity and relative value will support growth and expects a transfer of demand from affected destinations to unaffected countries, with the overall impact likely to be minimal,” he said.

In addition, the Conference Board of Canada predicts that Caribbean air lift from Canada will be stable, with capacity up by double digits to about a dozen Caribbean countries through to July, while several others showed strong growth of between five per cent and ten per cent.