Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines will benefit from better connectivity, better infrastructure, and improved tourism market development as a result of a US$26 million regional project approved by the World Bank.

That was the finding of Expedia group, the world’s largest online travel agency, which reported that travel demand to luxury properties throughout the Caribbean increased in 2016.

Barbados has lost some of its travel and tourism competitiveness. However, it remains the highest ranked destination in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Two government officials said that the decline in tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom is due to the devaluation of the British currency.

The Dominican Republic welcomed some 768,486 visitors from Canada in 2016. In January and February 2017 international tourism to the country jumped by 4.6 percent versus the same months in 2016.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says Asia has now emerged as a big tourism market and Jamaica has been making good inroads in that region.