New Caribbean Tourism Stats - 01/31/05 06:25 PM
Here are the just-released figures from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (of which Belize is a member) on 2004 overnight and cruise tourism to the region. Most figures are from January to October or November 2004, but some countries report for different periods.
By these numbers, Belize's tourism levels and growth perhaps aren't as rosy as some have suggested. The only category in which Belize excelled was in cruise ship visitation, where it ranked 8th in the Caribbean and 1st in growth. It ranked 18th in overall overnight tourism in the Caribbean, behind a number of small island nations including Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, St. Maarten, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, Curacao, and Antigua, and it ranked near the bottom in overnight tourism growth in the past year.
Belize also lags its Central American neighbors in overnight tourism. Numbers from 2003 (which may not be directly comparable to CTO numbers) show Costa Rica had more than 1 million visitors, almost five times as many as Belize. Guatemala got 884,000 visitors and Honduras 611,000, compared to about 221,000 for Belize in the 2003 year.
Still, it's certainly the case that Belize's current tourism numbers are a big improvement over those in the 1990s, and San Pedro in particular has seen a signficant uptrend.
International Tourism Arrivals (Overnight Visitors)
1. Dominican Republic 3,443,000 (Jan-Dec)
2. Cancun 1,972,000 (Jan-Oct)
3. The Bahamas 1,450,000 (Jan-Dec)
4. Jamaica 1,279,000 (Jan-Nov)
5. Cuba 1,134,000 (Jan-Jun)
6. Puerto Rico 1,082,000 Jan-Sep)
7. Aruba 608,000 (Jan-Oct)
8. Barbados 555,000 (Jan-Dec.)
9. U.S. Virgin Islands 550,000 (Jan-Oct)
10. Martinique 407,000 (Jan-Oct)
10. St. Maarten 358,000 (Jan-Sep)
11. Triniidad & Tobago 328,000 (Jan-Sep)
12. St. Lucia 298,000 (Jan-Dec)
13. Bermuda 258,000 (Jan-Nov)
14. Cozumel 244,000 (Jan-Jul)
15. Curacao 223,000 (Jan-Dec)
16. Antigua 222,000 (Jan-Nov)
17. Cayman Islands 214,000 (Jan-Jul)
18. BELIZE 209,000 (Jan-Nov)
19. Turks & Caicos 132,000 (Jan-Sep)
20. Guyana 108,000 (Jan-Nov)
21. Grenada 90,000 (Jan-Jul)
22. Suriname 78,000 (Jan-Jul)
23. St. Vincent & Grenadines 75,000 (Jan-Nov)
24. Bonaire 57,000 (Jan-Nov)
25. Anguilla 48,000 (Jan-Nov)
Overnight Tourism Growth (2003-2004)
1. Guyana 23.4%
2. Cozumel 18.7%
3. Montserrat 18.3%
4. Anguilla 16.5%
5. Cayman Islands 14.5%
5. Aruba 14.5%
7. Cuba 13.4%
8. St. Maarten 14.1%
9. Cancun 11.5%
10. Saba 11.1%
11. St. Vincent & Grenadines 10.9%
12. Antigua 10.3%
13. U.S. Virgin Islands 10.1%
14. Grenada 9.2%
15. Trinidad & Tobaco 8.0%
16. St. Lucia 7.8%
17. St. Eustatius 7.5%
18. Puerto Rico 6.9%
19. Turks & Caicos 6.2%
20 Dominica 5.7%
21. Jamaica 5.5%
22. Dominican Republic 5.4%.
23. Bermuda 5.3%
24. BELIZE 4.6%
25. Barbados 4.5%
26. Martinique 3.9%
27. Bahamas 1.5%
28. Bonaire 1.0%
29. Curacao 0.9%
30. Suriname 0.0%
Cruise Visitation
1. Bahamas 3,360,000 (13.1% growth)
2. U.S. Virgin Islands 1,964,000 (10.7%)
3. Cozumel 1,739,000 (9.0%)
4. Cayman Islands 1,192,000 (12.0%)
5. Puerto Rico 1,065,000 (13.5%)
6. Jamaica 966,000 (-4.6%)
7. St. Maarten 783,000 (19.1%)
8. BELIZE 748,000 (55.1%)
9. Barbados 739,000 (32.2%)
10. St. Lucia 481,000 (22.4%)
11. Aruba 380,000 (1.6%)
12. Antigua 374,000 (28.8%)
13. Dominican Republic 362,000 (n/a)
14. Curacao 219,000 (-21.5)
15. Bermuda 206,000 (-8.8%)
--Lan Sluder
By these numbers, Belize's tourism levels and growth perhaps aren't as rosy as some have suggested. The only category in which Belize excelled was in cruise ship visitation, where it ranked 8th in the Caribbean and 1st in growth. It ranked 18th in overall overnight tourism in the Caribbean, behind a number of small island nations including Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, St. Maarten, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, Curacao, and Antigua, and it ranked near the bottom in overnight tourism growth in the past year.
Belize also lags its Central American neighbors in overnight tourism. Numbers from 2003 (which may not be directly comparable to CTO numbers) show Costa Rica had more than 1 million visitors, almost five times as many as Belize. Guatemala got 884,000 visitors and Honduras 611,000, compared to about 221,000 for Belize in the 2003 year.
Still, it's certainly the case that Belize's current tourism numbers are a big improvement over those in the 1990s, and San Pedro in particular has seen a signficant uptrend.
International Tourism Arrivals (Overnight Visitors)
1. Dominican Republic 3,443,000 (Jan-Dec)
2. Cancun 1,972,000 (Jan-Oct)
3. The Bahamas 1,450,000 (Jan-Dec)
4. Jamaica 1,279,000 (Jan-Nov)
5. Cuba 1,134,000 (Jan-Jun)
6. Puerto Rico 1,082,000 Jan-Sep)
7. Aruba 608,000 (Jan-Oct)
8. Barbados 555,000 (Jan-Dec.)
9. U.S. Virgin Islands 550,000 (Jan-Oct)
10. Martinique 407,000 (Jan-Oct)
10. St. Maarten 358,000 (Jan-Sep)
11. Triniidad & Tobago 328,000 (Jan-Sep)
12. St. Lucia 298,000 (Jan-Dec)
13. Bermuda 258,000 (Jan-Nov)
14. Cozumel 244,000 (Jan-Jul)
15. Curacao 223,000 (Jan-Dec)
16. Antigua 222,000 (Jan-Nov)
17. Cayman Islands 214,000 (Jan-Jul)
18. BELIZE 209,000 (Jan-Nov)
19. Turks & Caicos 132,000 (Jan-Sep)
20. Guyana 108,000 (Jan-Nov)
21. Grenada 90,000 (Jan-Jul)
22. Suriname 78,000 (Jan-Jul)
23. St. Vincent & Grenadines 75,000 (Jan-Nov)
24. Bonaire 57,000 (Jan-Nov)
25. Anguilla 48,000 (Jan-Nov)
Overnight Tourism Growth (2003-2004)
1. Guyana 23.4%
2. Cozumel 18.7%
3. Montserrat 18.3%
4. Anguilla 16.5%
5. Cayman Islands 14.5%
5. Aruba 14.5%
7. Cuba 13.4%
8. St. Maarten 14.1%
9. Cancun 11.5%
10. Saba 11.1%
11. St. Vincent & Grenadines 10.9%
12. Antigua 10.3%
13. U.S. Virgin Islands 10.1%
14. Grenada 9.2%
15. Trinidad & Tobaco 8.0%
16. St. Lucia 7.8%
17. St. Eustatius 7.5%
18. Puerto Rico 6.9%
19. Turks & Caicos 6.2%
20 Dominica 5.7%
21. Jamaica 5.5%
22. Dominican Republic 5.4%.
23. Bermuda 5.3%
24. BELIZE 4.6%
25. Barbados 4.5%
26. Martinique 3.9%
27. Bahamas 1.5%
28. Bonaire 1.0%
29. Curacao 0.9%
30. Suriname 0.0%
Cruise Visitation
1. Bahamas 3,360,000 (13.1% growth)
2. U.S. Virgin Islands 1,964,000 (10.7%)
3. Cozumel 1,739,000 (9.0%)
4. Cayman Islands 1,192,000 (12.0%)
5. Puerto Rico 1,065,000 (13.5%)
6. Jamaica 966,000 (-4.6%)
7. St. Maarten 783,000 (19.1%)
8. BELIZE 748,000 (55.1%)
9. Barbados 739,000 (32.2%)
10. St. Lucia 481,000 (22.4%)
11. Aruba 380,000 (1.6%)
12. Antigua 374,000 (28.8%)
13. Dominican Republic 362,000 (n/a)
14. Curacao 219,000 (-21.5)
15. Bermuda 206,000 (-8.8%)
--Lan Sluder