Caribbean islands break tourism records with 30 million visitors in 2017

A record breaking 30 million travellers visited the Caribbean last year, despite two devastating hurricanes rocking the region.

According to figures from the recent report from the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization, visitors spent a record total of $37 billion, up nearly three percent from the previous year,

Some islands even saw double-digit growth despite the devastating of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. This surge is makes up the highest number of travelers the Carribbean has ever seen.

“These outcomes resulted in an overall increase of 1.7 per cent in 2017, making it the eighth consecutive year of growth,” said Ryan Skeete, the CTO’s director of research.

The majority of visitors came from the United States, and there also was a surge of travelers from Canada and Europe.  The CTO also recorded that 27 million cruise ship passengers also visited last year.

This trend is looking up for the region in 2018, with the CTO predicting growth of two to three percent in both stayover and cruise arrivals.