Caribbean Tourism Officials Project Strong Growth For 2004

The Caribbean tourism industry is projected to grow significantly this year, the World Travel & Tourism Council indicated in an analysis on the region´s hotel industry. The business group released projections that tourism industry´s receipts in the region will grow 16.8% over last year, nearly quadrupling earlier expectations.

Visitors are expected to spend $19 billion in the region this year, Executive Director Rick Miller told attendees at the annual Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference. Private sector tourism investments are forecast to grow to $7.4 billion in 2004 - 21.7% of the total investment in the region and 1.6% more than last year, Miller said. Caribbean governments are also projected to spend $1.9 billion on tourism, 4.5% more than last year.

The London-based council gathered information for its report by polling industry leaders in 23 Caribbean countries. It was unclear how accurate the projections will be. The council is comprised of about 100 global tourism-related companies.