MONTEGO BAY, St James — Business travel to the Caribbean is bouncing back from the ravages of the novel coronavirus, one of the many reasons regional tourism players are optimistic about the future. But an industry analyst is warning that the region will face tough competition in the months ahead.

“Business travel is rebounding and that’s an area that we really want to see continue to grow,” said Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA) President Nicola Madden-Greig. A lot has been done, she said, to ensure the needs of this niche market are being met.

She was speaking yesterday during a media briefing on the winter outlook for the sector. It coincided with the official start of the season.

Madden-Grieg added that other market segments such as meetings and incentives, along with weddings and romance, have also shown signs of recovery. The goal, now, is to consistently get the word out that the Caribbean is safe and open for business, she said.

During the briefing there was a lot of good news about the strength of the region’s performance and signs that the strong recovery will continue into next year. Vice-president of insights for airline analytics company ForwardKeys, Olivier Ponti, provided data to show that in November, the Caribbean outperformed all other regions in terms of international arrivals. Its numbers were only 16 per cent behind 2019 levels, compared to a global performance that was lagging by 59 per cent.

Among the destinations that did well in November, when measured in terms of global international arrivals, are Puerto Rico, St Maarten, The Bahamas and Jamaica. They are almost back to pre-COVID-19 levels, said Ponti. This is in line with data often referenced by regional tourism officials.

“This shows that recovery is not due to isolated success stories, but that it is a strong regional trend. The Caribbean has performed very well and this has been the case for many months now,” Ponti added.

However, he warned that there will be stiff competition ahead as many countries “that were completely closed” plan to reopen in the coming months.

“This will mean increased travel flows worldwide, an increased number of travellers, which is a great piece of news. But that will also mean increased competition,” he noted. “The Caribbean is in a very strong position at the moment and should definitely try pushing its advantage as many more destinations — either in the region, Central America, for example, but also outside of the region — are getting ready for a very strong rebound. So again, good… business opportunities, but a lot of work needed to keep the Caribbean in this space.”