This week at the Caribbean Marketplace in Barbados, ForwardKeys collaborated on the Caribbean Travel Trends Report with CHTA, featuring a top 20 destinations by country list, and examining key destinations that showed uncanny resilience and travel data mastery during Covid-19: Aruba, Saint Lucia, US Virgin Islands, and Bonaire.
This full report is now available to be downloaded at the end of this article and was received in person at the event. Here are a few highlights of the major themes in the report.
1. Who are the movers and shakers within the Caribbean this year?
The Caribbean region pulled through some of the worst parts of the health crisis due to quick and clever travel regulations and practices the respective government authorities put into place. But some destinations remained more resilient than others. Fast forward to 2023, and some key players still reign supreme.
“The success of our region’s recovery is a testament to the power of collaboration. Tourism leaders, businesses, governments, organizations, airlines, and our hospitality professionals have achieved impressive results by working together. We are grateful for the hard work and close partnerships that continue to allow us to recover and soar to new heights,” says Nicola Madden-Greig, President of, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).
2. The rise and power of the South American market in the region
The competition is getting stronger now that we can look at the pandemic in the past tense. Diversifying your marketing by widening your net is pivotal. The latest data by ForwardKeys shows there is a real potential to convert more international arrivals from Colombia and Argentina this year.
“Through our air ticketing data, we are observing a significant leap from the Latin Markets into the Caribbean, especially from Central America, Colombia, and Argentina. Even more encouraging is that they are flying in premium-class cabins, more than before the pandemic. A worthy market to tap into,” says Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at ForwardKeys.
3. Destinations thrive thanks to data and flight connectivity.
In the Caribbean Travel Trends Report, a common thread from destination to destination, withstanding its geo-location and target audience, was the importance of being a destination that is easily reached and improving flight connectivity.
From the Dominican Republic to the US Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, and Curacao – all destinations increased their international arrivals by savvy use of travel data to decipher topflight routes, airline carriers and origin markets. Unlike other destinations that cut down the number of flights or changed the configuration of the airframes, these destinations widened their flight networks and connections.
A lesson learned from the COVID-19 crisis by many destinations comes down to something simple – what does the data say? As Albert Einstein once said: “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”
Download the report here for the full version and in-depth analysis per country.