Given their name by the Caribbean Sea, the Caribbean islands have earned themselves a reputation as a highly sought-after tourist destination. So much so collectively, the region welcomed more than ********** foreign visitor arrivals annually before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, nonetheless, the Caribbean's international tourism dropped significantly as a result of the crisis.

A big-game market

As of 2019, the island nations ranked the majority of the highest GDP generating travel and tourism destinations worldwide, contributing approximately ** percent of travel and tourism’s GDP in the Latin American region that year. However, under the Covid-19 pandemic, the archipelagos inevitably faced dramatic revenue losses as the global tourism sector was forced to come to a standstill.

Trouble in paradise

As the most prominent cruise destinations, the region was set to lose around *********** tourism jobs in 2020, which would cause a significant blowback in region’s job market. In 2019, for instance, the Caribbean’s number of jobs directly related to tourism was almost equaled to that number, with the Dominican Republic accounting for more than ********** of them.

United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Saint Martin data was reported at 253.000 Person in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 247.000 Person for Feb 2025. United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Saint Martin data is updated monthly, averaging 21.000 Person from Dec 2013 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 136 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 898.000 Person in Jul 2024 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Feb 2017. United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Saint Martin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Travel and Tourism Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.Q001: Visitor Arrivals.

In 2019, Mexico alone generated over ** percent of international tourism revenue in Latin America, which reached a total of *** billion. Nevertheless, the Caribbean was the region with the largest revenue of international tourism in the whole region that year, surpassing ** billion U.S. dollars. Annually, the Caribbean receives over ** million international tourist arrivals.

United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba data was reported at 119.000 Person in Dec 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 94.000 Person for Nov 2018. United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba data is updated monthly, averaging 24.000 Person from Dec 2013 (Median) to Dec 2018, with 61 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 193.000 Person in Jul 2018 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Feb 2017. United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Travel and Tourism Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.Q001: Visitor Arrivals.

Roughly *********** international visitors arrived in Cuba in 2024, which represents a drop of around ******* versus the previous year. As of that year, the Caribbean country's tourism sector had not been able to recover from the COVID-19 impact.

United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Cuba data was reported at 2,567.000 Person in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,893.000 Person for Feb 2025. United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Cuba data is updated monthly, averaging 2,335.000 Person from Jan 2000 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 303 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12,471.000 Person in Dec 2017 and a record low of 19.000 Person in Apr 2020. United States Visitor Arrivals: Caribbean: Cuba data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Travel and Tourism Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.Q001: Visitor Arrivals.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the international tourism in South America by reducing its tourist arrivals by ** percent and ** percent in 2020 and 2021, in comparison to the volume registered in 2019. One of the major contributors to this development were the strict travel restrictions imposed in Argentina – the second most visited country in the region before the global health crisis.

Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Grenada data was reported at 1.000 Person in Jan 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.000 Person for Dec 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Grenada data is updated monthly, averaging 1.000 Person from Jan 2001 (Median) to Jan 2018, with 205 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.000 Person in Sep 2013 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Nov 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Grenada data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Administration of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Lebanon – Table LB.Q001: Visitor Arrivals: by Country.

Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Saint Kitts data was reported at 50.000 Person in Jan 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 69.000 Person for Dec 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Saint Kitts data is updated monthly, averaging 2.000 Person from Jan 2002 (Median) to Jan 2018, with 193 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 109.000 Person in Jul 2017 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Sep 2012. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Saint Kitts data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Administration of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Lebanon – Table LB.Q001: Visitor Arrivals: by Country.

In 2024, international tourists visiting Anguilla spent almost *** million East Caribbean dollars. This figure represented a growth of around ** percent from the previous year's value.

During the past decade, the growth rates of direct contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin American and the Caribbean registered considerable fluctuations. In 2017, both regions experienced major drops in the contribution of this sector to their GDP, recording negative growth rates of around *** percent. Since then, the growth rates of tourism GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean increased. In 2019, travel and tourism direct contribution to the GDP grew *** percent for the Caribbean and *** percent for Latin America.

In 2023, Chile received more than *** million international tourist arrivals, showing an increase of ** percent versus the previous year. In 2020, the South American country experienced an annual drop in international tourism volume of **** percent. However, 2021 had the lowest number of visitor arrivals in years, with only *** thousand. Chile’s inbound tourism reached the peak of the past decade in 2017, at more than *** million arrivals. Impact of COVID-19 on the Chilean tourism economy As a logical consequence of the decline of international tourism volume in Chile, the receipts generated by this sector’s segment in the country went down by approximately ** percent in the first pandemic year and are not expected to bounce back to pre-coronavirus levels up in the *****. Though not only the Chilean international tourism economy was significantly affected by this crisis. The contribution to GDP of the entire tourism sector in the South American nation decreased *** percentage points in 2020 and could only fully recover by the mid-2020s. Chile’s competitiveness in the travel and tourism sector With an overall score of *** out of the ***** possible points in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) of 2021, Chile managed to place itself ***** in the TTDI ranking for the Americas that year. **** of the ** pillars evaluated to measure the country’s competitiveness in this sector received **** or more points. Of these indicators, information and communications technology (ICT) readiness as well as price competitiveness performed the best. On the other hand, Chile exhibited the weakest score in the area evaluating its cultural resources.

Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Jamaica data was reported at 1.000 Person in Jan 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.000 Person for Dec 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Jamaica data is updated monthly, averaging 3.000 Person from Jan 2001 (Median) to Jan 2018, with 205 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.000 Person in Jun 2004 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Oct 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Jamaica data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Administration of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Lebanon – Table LB.Q001: Visitor Arrivals: by Country.

Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Dominica data was reported at 0.000 Person in Jan 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for Dec 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Dominica data is updated monthly, averaging 0.000 Person from Jan 2001 (Median) to Jan 2018, with 205 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.000 Person in Jun 2001 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Jan 2018. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Dominica data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Administration of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Lebanon – Table LB.Q001: Visitor Arrivals: by Country.

The British Virgin Islands, located in the Caribbean, experienced a strong decrease in the consumption of tourism in the last three years of the past decade, when compared to the previous years. From 2017 to 2019, the internal tourism consumption in the British overseas territory, which include tourism revenues and government spending on the sector, did not surpassed the *** million U.S. dollars and it even reached the lowest value of the decade in 2018. That year the British Virgin Islands also registered the lowest volume of inbound tourism since 2010.

This statistic presents the results of a survey conducted to find out people's perceptions about a country's brand, based on several factors such as awareness, visitation and advocacy. When asked how they would rate Puerto Rico as a brand, ** percent of respondents stated that the Caribbean island had an attractive tourism industry.

Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Acre: Central America and the Caribbean: Guatemala data was reported at 5.000 Person in 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.000 Person for 2017. Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Acre: Central America and the Caribbean: Guatemala data is updated yearly, averaging 3.000 Person from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2018, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 1.000 Person in 2014. Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Acre: Central America and the Caribbean: Guatemala data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Tourism. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Tourism Sector – Table BR.QB005: No of Visitors Arrivals: per State: Annual.

Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Pernambuco: Central America and the Caribbean data was reported at 482.000 Person in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 305.000 Person for 2017. Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Pernambuco: Central America and the Caribbean data is updated yearly, averaging 545.000 Person from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2018, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,741.000 Person in 2014 and a record low of 305.000 Person in 2017. Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Pernambuco: Central America and the Caribbean data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Tourism. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Tourism Sector – Table BR.QB005: No of Visitors Arrivals: per State: Annual.

Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Dominican Republic data was reported at 44.000 Person in Jan 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 51.000 Person for Dec 2017. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Dominican Republic data is updated monthly, averaging 21.000 Person from Jan 2001 (Median) to Jan 2018, with 205 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 116.000 Person in Jun 2004 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Nov 2006. Lebanon Visitor Arrivals: America: Caribbean Island: Dominican Republic data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Administration of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Lebanon – Table LB.Q001: Visitor Arrivals: by Country.

Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Pernambuco: Central America and the Caribbean: Dominican Republic data was reported at 15.000 Person in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.000 Person for 2017. Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Pernambuco: Central America and the Caribbean: Dominican Republic data is updated yearly, averaging 20.000 Person from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2018, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 47.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 1.000 Person in 2017. Brazil Visitor Arrivals: Pernambuco: Central America and the Caribbean: Dominican Republic data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Tourism. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Tourism Sector – Table BR.QB005: No of Visitors Arrivals: per State: Annual.