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Mixed Tourism Growth reported for the Caribbean in 2010

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Mixed Tourism Growth reported for the Caribbean in 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
http://www.travelpulse.com/caribbean-region-reports-mixed-results-in-tourism-gro...
(Dive Travel Business News - October 22, 2010) --  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports the Caribbean region’s tourism growth has been “subdued” following the global recession. Tourist arrivals to the Caribbean are predicted to increase by 3.5 percent in 2010 compared with the same period last year,  however tourism’s growth in the region “uneven,” with some islands are doing better than others.

Speaking at the launch of the Regional Economic Outlook in October. Gilbert Terrier, IMF's senior advisor for the Western Hemisphere stated that,“Smaller islands in the region have experienced a sharper and more prolonged decline in arrivals than some of the larger islands. Destinations that significantly reduced hotel prices following the crisis experienced milder declines in arrivals.”

“For example, hotels in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica lowered prices more than other countries and did not experience a decline in the number of tourist arrivals. In contrast, hotels in the Bahamas and Barbados were more reluctant to reduce prices and their tourist arrivals fell," said Terrier.

Terrier’s comments come as Jamaica is reporting tourist arrivals for the first half of 2010 surpassed one million visitors, according to Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister. A total of 1,010,896 foreigners visited the island between Jan. 1 and June 30, a 4.1 percent increase over the figures for the similar period last year, according to a report in the Jamaica Observer.

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