Caribbean Competitiveness Poll Reveals Beaches No Longer Enough

Caribbean islands attract 20 million international tourists every year. But beyond dreams promoted in advertising campaigns, are they competitive in terms of visitors’ experience and quality of hospitality?

Based on its reference UNWTO endorsed global survey TRAVELSAT, TCI Research has evaluated the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the Caribbean destinations vs. main rivals in the world: Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Arabian Emirates.

Beyond beach beauty and diversity advocated by their visitors, Caribbean islands benefit from several assets related to the local people hospitality, leisure and nightlife, local food quality and shopping experience. However intentions to recommend and repeat visit remain lower in the region (minus 15 points vs. competition).

The gap is driven by a number of competitive weaknesses related to less tangible yet crucial criteria such as the feeling of security, the cleanliness or the urbanization development.