Though still in recovery mode, the Caribbean remains among the world’s top destinations for travel, especially now as the sector welcomes travellers for the winter season.

Speaking at a Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) held webinar on Wednesday, analysts have said that despite threats surrounding the new Omicron variant, travel to the region remains robust which they expect to carry over into 2022.

According to Ana Paradela, director of business development at Expedia media group, countries such as Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and the US Virgin Islands remain among the top five destinations most booked while the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and Brazil are seen as the top countries of origin.

The bulk of the travels, she said, was concentrated in the couples market, which accounts for approximately 55 per cent of travels followed by family travels at 26 per cent.

“For the Caribbean, 0-60 days represent 59 per cent of the total searches and 41 per cent for 61 plus days. With the emergence of the variant, searches in August and September dropped a little but then they came back up. That is something we continue to see and more than likely will also continue to see in 2022.”

Olivier Ponti, vice-president of insights at Forward Keys, a travel analytics firm said that in spite of the fears around the new variant, the overall booking situation with regards to the Caribbean was very much in line with pre-pandemic trends, only tracking some 17 per cent behind.

“It seems to me there are good reasons to believe the Caribbean will be one of the few tourism hotspots this winter and that means plenty of opportunities for its destinations and tourism businesses,” he said.

CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig said that despite a few hurdles left to overcome, the region’s outlook for the winter season was positive. She said even though the sector’s numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels, recovery in the over 30 destinations of the Caribbean has been progressing steadily with an expectation to get even stronger going into the new year.

With data already pointing to Caribbean tourism recovering faster than the rest of the world, Madden- Greig said it was imperative that the observance of safe travel protocols and increasing vaccination rates in the sector remain top priority. This, she believes, is necessary to prevent the re-imposition of travel bans and further closures [which she has advised against] and in order to curtail further fallouts for the already battered sector.

“Our reports are that advanced bookings of airline tickets and hotel stays, points to a potential recovery rate for tourism in 2022 at more than 70 per cent of the industry’s 2019 peak performance level — and 2019 was a phenomenal year for Caribbean tourism,” she stated.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett in his outlook for the winter season for Jamaica which began this week, said the sector is also anticipating strong out-turns. This as early statistics have indicated up to 1.6 million in visitor arrivals by year-end coupled with over US$2 billion in earnings.

“I am delighted to announce that our research shows that Jamaica will have a strong and lucrative winter tourist season. I am extremely grateful that despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our tourism industry is showing rapid signs of recovery. Hotels and attractions have reopened, most of our tourism workers are back on the job, and visitor arrivals continue to surge,” he said in a statement this week.

Referencing statistics from GDS — a platform used by agents to book travel — he said Jamaica was currently averaging some 61 per cent of 2019 levels for international air passengers when compared to 28 per cent globally.

“New and existing investors are set to spend close to US$2 billion over the next two years, which will result in the addition of 7,500 new rooms and more than 20,000 full-time and part-time jobs,” he said in outlining further developments to come for the sector.