BRIDGETOWN, Barbados—Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Hugh Riley has described 2016 as an impressive, yet challenging year for Caribbean tourism.

“We have seen a rise in tourist arrivals when compared to our record year in 2015, fueled by strong performances in Europe—mainly the United Kingdom and Germany—and from the United States, and we are poised to meet the 30 million arrivals target set two years ago at our State of the Tourism Industry Conference in the United States Virgin Islands,” he said in a year-end message.

However, he said, there were concerns about the Canadian market because of declining numbers due to the weakening of the Canadian dollar.

Riley said: “We are moving to reverse that slide, combining our efforts with those of our CTO member-countries and our industry partners. In the first quarter of 2017 we will hire a business development representative to substantially enhance the Caribbean’s engagement in Canada’s most productive areas, identify and develop business in non-traditional areas and work closely with our members’ representatives for maximum impact.

“New travel agent training and certification, increased use of targeted social media, enhanced deployment of the CTO’s data analysis tools, and more focused engagement with the Caribbean Diaspora are all components of the 2017 strategy for Canada.”

He said hotels in the region faced challenges from major markets, so while air arrival numbers were up, key performance metrics for the hotel industry recorded declines through the first half of 2016.

“The slumps were influenced by a rise in room stock and a fall in demand for traditional hotel rooms, attributed in part to ‘the sharing economy’.”

Riley added: “Mother Nature challenged us as well, with some of our member-countries affected in varying degrees by hurricanes. Yet, despite the adversities occasioned by these events, our resilience and fortitude as a region stood out and even the worst affected were back open for business in quick time, proving that tourism is an effective way to re-energise an economy following a natural or other disaster.

“The onset of the Zika virus also presented a challenge and the CTO continues to work with our partners, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and the Caribbean Public Health Agency to address concerns raised by our suppliers and potential visitors.

“We also continue to monitor the possible impact of the Brexit vote as the UK moves to end and its membership in the European Union. Developments in the United States too are occupying our focused attention, the US market being the primary supplier of visitors to the Caribbean.”

Riley announced that 2017 will be the Year of Adventure in the Caribbean and members and partners, both within and outside the Caribbean, are being encouraged to organise events and activities and share them with the CTO.

“The spirit of adventure lives in all of us and in every member-country of the CTO,” he said.

IMAGE: Hugh Riley

For more on this story go to: https://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2016-12-28/cto-challenging-year-tourism