Since the mid-2000s, the ability of the Caribbean tourism sector to boost rapid economic growth has been widely accepted by international financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Despite this, and the now extensive recognition of the centrality of tourism to the Caribbean economy, development institutions are struggling to find sound data for undertaking the analysis necessary to guide economic policy.
This is largely because the tools that the region uses to measure tourism’s performance are still elementary and unreliable. So much so that decisions about pricing, taxation, competitiveness, and the possible impact that industry related decisions may have on national economic performance, are all too often based on flimsy data.
There are indications that the region’s tourism sector may be performing less well than projected by headlines. This month, for example, the World Tourism Barometer produced by the UNWTO indicated that arrivals into the Caribbean have this year have fallen by eight per cent so far. There are also other indications that Caribbean tourism is on average less competitive than regions of the world.
This suggests that new approaches are required for tourism study and data gathering, and the link of both to forecasting and policy formulation.
Tags: caribbean tourism
