Cuba Topped Searches in April among Potential Travelers from Italy, Germany
Cuba topped the list of April travel searches among potential travelers from Germany and Italy, two of the Caribbean’s major outbound markets, let alone the island nation finished third among British sunbathers, according to information posted by ForwardKeys.
With 13 sovereign states and 17 dependent territories, the Caribbean region has more than 700 islands, islets, cays, and reefs stretching from the Greater Antilles and Lucayan Archipelago in the north of the Caribbean Sea to the lesser Antilles in the south and east.
Its diversity is a large part of the appeal – no two destinations are the same and every holiday will be different, whether in the English, Dutch Spanish, or the French Caribbean. It’s a region you can visit over and over again and always discover something new.
Tourism to the Caribbean grew by 4.4% in 2019 – which was almost perfectly in step with tourism growth worldwide.
An analysis of the most important origin markets showed that the increase in visitors was driven by North America, with travel from the USA (which accounts for 53% of visitors) up by 6.5%, and travel from Canada up by 12.2%.
The top Caribbean destination by far was the Dominican Republic, with a 29% share of visitors, followed by Jamaica, with 12%, Cuba with 11%, and the Bahamas with 7%.
Puerto Rico saw strong growth, up 26.4%, but this is better seen as a recovery after Hurricane Maria devastated the destination in September 2017.
The way the Caribbean nations united to combat the coronavirus swiftly is to be admired. Not only were the numbers of those infected low but everything was done to ensure it did not spread. Whether it was the way it was handled, the loyalty of past visitors, or the need to visit “home”, the desire to fly to the Caribbean has not been squelched by the Covid-19 pandemic.
When examining flight searches carried out in April in the top source markets for the Caribbean: USA, Germany, UK, and Italy, all pointed to the same thing – an interest to visit the Caribbean in December 2020.
Furthermore, these flight searches, in the case of the UK are also converting to bookings being made in April for December. These daydreams are converting into real actions!
Hoteliers, tour operators, car hire companies, and DMOs should use this time to prepare for these future travelers. According to our latest data, the lead booking times to the Caribbean are really varied, ranging from 85 days to 180 days made in advance.
Bookings made from the Americas tend to be made sooner, especially from Canada. While from Europe, Spaniards tend to make their bookings quicker than a UK citizen, who require close to 6 months of advance planning.
In terms of flight searches from these key source markets, the graph below shows you the top 5 destinations per source market. It appears withstanding of past colonial ties, time of year, or VFR appeal, this December, both Cuba and the Dominican Republic should prepare for a busy winter season.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization Chapter UK & Europe have been running an inspirational #CaribbeanDreaming campaign since April 2020 to keep the hope of visiting real and offer a monthly holiday prize to the Caribbean. Enter before June 1 via their website on www.caribbean.co.uk.
