The Caribbean tourism sector is looking to put the disaster of 2017 behind it as it looks forward to 2018 with “optimism and excitement”.
In his New Year’s message, Secretary General of the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Hugh Riley said while 2017 was a challenging year, mainly due to the damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria, which “not only destroyed property, but also took the lives of many of our citizens”, there was reason to be optimistic about this year.
He said he was confident those affected by the storms would recover, and that guests planning their trip to the hurricane-affected islands this year and beyond should expect to see “a product that is rebuilt stronger, better and even more attractive” than before.
With tourism being the main economic driver for most of the Caribbean, Riley said the CTO would continue to place “enormous emphasis on delivering value and a superb visitor experience”.
The CTO had dubbed 2018 the Year of Rejuvenation.
