Title page 1

Contents 4

Acknowledgements 3

Acronyms 8

Executive Summary 10

Chapter 1. Caribbean Tourism Now 26

Chapter 2. Cruise Segment 46

2.1. Introduction 47

2.2. Development challenges 51

2.3. Policy Guidance 64

Chapter 3. Accommodation Segment 72

3.1. Introduction 73

3.2. Development challenges 78

3.3. Policy guidance 84

Chapter 4. Adventure Segment 92

4.1. Introduction 93

4.2. Development challenges 98

4.3. Policy guidance 108

Chapter 5. Policy Summary and Forward Look 121

References 136

Annex 1. Overview of Methodology 148

Annex 2. Segment Approach Methodology 150

Annex 3. Data Analysis Methodologies 159

Tables 6

Table 1. Benchmark and deep dive countries for market segments 45

Table 2. Environmental and passenger fees in the Caribbean and select small islands 52

Table 3. Perceptions of the Caribbean by US outbound adventure tourists, normalized across competitor destinations, Caribbean adventure travelers and global adventure travelers 100

Table 4. Policy recommendations for cruise 123

Table 5. Policy recommendations for accommodation 125

Table 6. Policy recommendations for adventure 126

Table 7. Long List of Tourism Market Segments 150

Table 8. Dimensions of the Job Quality Index 160

Table 9. Filtering criteria for data extraction and categorization of segments (Hotels) 163

Figures 5

Figure 1. Tourism total contribution to GDP, Caribbean countries and selected comparators, 2023 12

Figure 2. Tourism direct employment by gender in hotels and restaurants in selected Caribbean economies, 2019 or last available year 13

Figure 3. Direct Travel & Tourism sector employment, as share of total national employment by age group, top 10 countries for proportion of young people (15-24), 2019 13

Figure 4. Average regional spending per arrival, Caribbean and Pacific, 2009-19 14

Figure 5. Relationship between share of cruise visitors and expenditure per arrival, 2009-19 14

Figure 6. Job quality in the tourism sector by gender (2016-20) 17

Figure 7. Job quality in the tourism sector by geographic area (2016-20) 17

Figure 8. Tourism Economy Impact Framework 19

Figure 9. Cross-cutting Tourism Policy Matrix for the Caribbean 22

Figure 10. Tourism total contribution to GDP, Caribbean countries, average for Caribbean, and selected comparators, 2023 28

Figure 11. Tourism total and direct contribution to jobs, 2023 and 2019 or last available year 29

Figure 12. Tourism direct employment by gender in hotels and restaurants in selected Caribbean economies, 2019 or last available year 30

Figure 13. Direct Travel & Tourism sector employment, as share of total national employment by age group, top 10 countries for proportion of young people (15-24), 2019 30

Figure 14. Average regional spending per arrival including cruise and stayover, Caribbean and Pacific, 2009-19 31

Figure 15. Number of overnight and cruise arrivals to the Caribbean, 1989-2023 32

Figure 16. Relationship between share of cruise visitors and expenditure per arrival, 2009-19 32

Figure 17. Share of overnight arrivals to Caribbean by country size, 2003-23 33

Figure 18. Share of cruise arrivals to Caribbean by country size, 2003-23 33

Figure 19. Overnight arrivals of non-resident tourists to Caribbean, by country of residence, 2010-23 34

Figure 20. Overnight arrivals of nonresident tourists to individual Caribbean countries, by country of residence, 2023 34

Figure 21. Job quality in the tourism sector by age group (2016-20) 35

Figure 22. Job quality in the tourism sector by gender (2016-20) 35

Figure 23. Job quality in the tourism sector by geographic area (2016-20) 35

Figure 24. Job quality by economic sector 36

Figure 25. Job quality dimensions in the tourism sector and other sectors by country 36

Figure 26. Travel and tourism contribution to total GHG emissions (% of total emissions), 2010 and 2019 37

Figure 27. Travel and tourism GDP growth versus GHG emissions growth, 2010-19 37

Figure 28. Industries contributing most to travel and tourism GHG emissions 2021 (% of total energy usage) 38

Figure 29. Freshwater consumption linked to travel and tourism (thousand cubic meters of withdrawals per US$ million of GDP) 38

Figure 30. Litter found in coastal cleanups, Caribbean vs global averages 39

Figure 31. Destination selection factors for US outbound adventure tourists, 2024 42

Figure 32. Tourism Economy Impact Framework 44

Figure 33. Percentage of Caribbean stop-over arrivals versus cruise (2023) 48

Figure 34. Cruise passenger arrivals by country (thousands) 49

Figure 35. Passenger market share of cruise lines to the Caribbean in 2024 51

Figure 36. Share of revenue from "on board and others", 2023 53

Figure 37. Share of shore excursions, bychannel, by country, 2024 53

Figure 38. Caribbean cruise versus stop-over expenditure, 2024 54

Figure 39. Employment contribution, 2024 55

Figure 40. Total cruise line,18 passenger, and crew expenditure by country, 2024 55

Figure 41. Total amount spent at each port per person compared with number of hours in port 56

Figure 42. Time spent at each port compared to number of physical activities19 undertaken 56

Figure 43. Cruise visitor spending categories, 2020-24 57

Figure 44. Overnight tourist spending categories, 2023 57

Figure 45. Behavior reflecting sustainable travel and tourism 60

Figure 46. Attitude towards sustainability (cruise passengers versus adventure tourists) 60

Figure 47. Share of policies outlining specific tourism-related taxes 63

Figure 48. Caribbean accommodation pipeline in 2023 by numbers of projects and rooms 74

Figure 49. Number and selected typologies of hotels and resorts in Caribbean countries, 2023 75

Figure 50. Estimated number of vacation rentals and hotel rooms in the Caribbean, 2024 77

Figure 51. Back-up infrastructure ownership by country in the hotel sector, 2020 83

Figure 52. Most important source of electricity in the hotel sector, 2020 83

Figure 53. Main source of water for general use in hotels, 2020 83

Figure 54. Main source of drinking water for clients in hotels, 2020 83

Figure 55. Adventure tourism supply chain 97

Figure 56. ATTA Industry Snapshot ranking of forecasted demand by region, Caribbean 99

Figure 57. Demographics for Caribbean adventure travelers and global adventure travelers 102

Figure 58. Destination awareness compared to consideration for future travel intention (in the next 3 years), Caribbean Adventure Travelers and Global Adventure Travelers 103

Figure 59. Share of TripAdvisor listings by tourism segment and country 104

Figure 60. Average number of TripAdvisor reviews per segment indexed by average number of reviews for all listings in the country 105

Figure 61. Number of adventure activity TripAdvisor listings in 12 Caribbean countries 106

Figure 62. Activities undertaken during last adventure trip to the Caribbean compared to activities respondents wanted to be offered more, Caribbean adventure travelers 106

Figure 63. Average TripAdvisor bubble review scores for adventure activity listings 107

Figure 64. Cross-cutting tourism policy matrix for Caribbean 129

Figure 65. Staged approach to conducting research with key milestones 149

Figure 66. Share of policies and countries that prioritize market segments 151

Figure 67. Evaluation of global market segment growth potential by global average revenue per tourist 151

Figure 68. Evaluation of tourism market segments by social and environmental impacts 152

Figure 69. Consolidated evaluation and shortlisting of tourism market segments 153

Figure 70. Phases of web scrapping 162

Boxes 6

Box 1. Caribbean tourism job quality analysis 36

Box 2. World Bank's 360º Resilience highlights 40

Box 3. Deep dive Barbados: growing focus on boutique cruise vessels 51

Box 4. Barbados: local linkages 58

Box 5. Deep dive Antigua and Barbuda: environmental impacts 61

Box 6. Deep dive Antigua and Barbuda, and Barbados: tourism taxes 62

Box 7. Deep dive Barbados: homeporting 64

Box 8. Benchmark insight Vanuatu: integrating local business into cruises supply chains 66

Box 9. Benchmark insight European Union: OPS implementation 69

Box 10. Benchmark insight Alaska: Marine Fee Program's transparency and accountability 70

Box 11. Cruise fee hikes: which destinations are raising rates? 71

Box 12. Deep dive Jamaica: accommodation sector growth 79

Box 13. Deep dive Jamaica: post-pandemic hospitality labor market 79

Box 14. Deep dive St. Lucia: short-term rental landscape 80

Box 15. Deep dive Jamaica: costly licensing of homestays 82

Box 16. Deep dive St. Lucia: Tourism Enhancement Fund 84

Box 17. Deep dive Jamaica: agriculture linkages exchange 85

Box 18. Benchmark insight Dominican Republic: tourism planning at all area levels 86

Box 19. Benchmark insight Japan: evolving development impact of short-term rentals 88

Box 20. Deep dive St. Lucia: incentives landscape 89

Box 21. Deep dive Dominican Republic: circular economy good practices 90

Box 22. Benchmark insight Türkiye: certifying sustainable tourism operations 91

Box 23. Illustrative list of adventure activities per category 94

Box 24. Consumer market research adventure tourism 95

Box 25. Adventure tourism market segmentation 96

Box 26. Traditional adventure tourism industry structure 97

Box 27. Benchmark insight New Zealand and Costa Rica: snapshot of adventure tourism 109

Box 28. Benchmark insight New Zealand and Costa Rica: examples of programs to stimulate a culture of exploration and access to skills 110

Box 29. Benchmark insight New Zealand and Costa Rica: examples of policies to increase sustainable use and development of protected areas for adventure tourism 112

Box 30. Deep dive Dominican Republic: waterfalls co-management success case 112

Box 31. Benchmark insight New Zealand: investment into protected areas and tourism infrastructure 114

Box 32. Deep dive Dominica: adventure product development 115

Box 33. Benchmark insight New Zealand and Costa Rica: adventure safety standards and regulations 116

Box 34. Benchmark insight New Zealand and Costa Rica: examples of quality and sustainability standards 117

Box 35. Benchmark insight New Zealand: example of innovative liability coverage 118

Box 36. Benchmark insight New Zealand: example of addressing information asymmetries 119

Box 37. Benchmark insight New Zealand and Costa Rica: example of whole-of-government approach to tourism planning and development 120

Box 38. OECS CCDR recommendations 133