ST. JAMES, Jamaica — Caribbean tourism leaders must act decisively and collaboratively to protect the region’s most vital industry, says Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett.
Speaking on Sunday to hundreds of travel advisors, Bartlett stressed that while the region is showing encouraging signs of recovery, urgent attention must be given to challenges that threaten long-term sustainability.
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“The Caribbean is the most tourism-reliant region in the world, with the industry contributing 22 percent of GDP and supporting 2.75 million jobs,” he said. “We must confront sustainable tourism practices more urgently than ever before.”
Bartlett pointed to the sector’s resilience, noting that in 2024 the region recorded a 6.1 percent increase in international arrivals over the previous year, reaching 34.2 million visitors. That figure also surpassed pre-pandemic levels by nearly 7 percent. By contrast, he reminded, Caribbean destinations suffered a staggering 65 percent decline in arrivals in 2020at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the rebound, Bartlett warned that the region’s dependence on tourism leaves it highly vulnerable. Climate change and natural disasters—rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes, and coral reef degradation—remain pressing threats. He also highlighted geopolitical tensions, instability in source markets, and the high cost and limited availability of intra-regional travel as additional barriers to growth.
Bartlett urged regional ministers to strengthen cooperation rather than competition, advocating for harmonized policies to improve connectivity, standardize quality, and create seamless multi-island travel experiences. Such collaboration, he argued, would unlock new opportunities for growth and cultural exchange.
“The Caribbean’s strength lies in its unity,” Bartlett said. “COVID-19 taught us that we compete at our own peril and we ‘copete’ at our own glory. We become better, stronger if we copete moving forward.”
His remarks were delivered at the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) Caribbean Showcase, attended by tourism ministers including St. Lucia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Barbados’ Ian Gooding-Edghill, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Carlos James, and Grenada’s Adrian Thomas. Bartlett praised their participation as evidence of a “unique spirit of cooperation,” shifting the focus from rivalry to “copetition.”
