The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) convened a landmark meeting of its newly established Tourism Supply-Side Committee at Sandals Antigua yesterday, marking a decisive shift in the region’s approach to retaining a greater share of the economic benefits generated by its most vital industry.
Leading the charge was the Chair of the Tourism Supply-Side Committee and Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Honourable Edmund Bartlett, who issued a bold call for concrete, coordinated regional action. This would include the development of a Caribbean tourism logistics hub that would build capacity to own the supply side of the industry.
Despite tourism contributing between 15% and 60% of GDP across Caribbean nations, the region currently retains less than 20 cents of every tourism dollar earned — a consequence of heavy reliance on imported goods and external supply chains to service visitor demand. Minister Bartlett framed this structural imbalance as both a challenge and an opportunity.
“Owning and strengthening the tourism supply-side is fundamental to dismantling the long-held perception that tourism is merely an enclave or extractive industry. The Caribbean must position itself not only as a destination for visitors, but as a region that fully captures and retains the wealth generated from tourism within our own economies and communities,” said Minister Bartlett.
A Caribbean tourism logistics hub will help revenue retention, supply chain control, intra-regional trade and importantly jobs and community wealth. Every step up the supply chain that is owned regionally creates employment in logistics, agriculture, light manufacturing, and services.
This follows commitments the CTO secured from two major multilateral institutions following high-level engagements in Washington, D.C. last month. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has agreed to provide funding for a specialist consultant to conduct a comprehensive regional study on the tourism supply-side, with a specific focus on identifying strategies for Caribbean economies to retain a greater share of tourism earnings.
A draft Terms of Reference is expected shortly, with the contract anticipated to be in place by end of June 2026 and the consultancy is expected to run for 10 to 12 weeks. The IDB has also agreed to hold further discussions with the CTO during Caribbean Week in New York in June.
The World Bank has also confirmed its support and readiness to contribute to forthcoming analytical work on Caribbean tourism sector resilience, including sectoral alignment and gap analysis.
