million visitors in 2015 (an increase of seven per cent from the previous year) with a total contribution to GDP of US$51.9bn (14 per cent). Tis is expected to rise to US$73.6bn by 2025. Te sector generates almost 700,000 jobs directly (four per cent of total employment).
Te area is often described as the most ‘tourism dependent region in the world’ with the biggest growth markets in Barbados, Aruba, Cuba and Haiti. American visitors account for around 50 per cent of total arrivals and the majority visit the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
Te first hotel was built in 1778 on the island of Nevis and brought wealthy visitors who came for the fresh water and sea air and by the 19th century steam ships brought visitors into the newly developed resort hotels mostly in Te Bahamas, Jamaica and Barbados.
Regular flights during the 1960s made vacations more accessible and affordable as visitors from Europe could be there in eight hours instead of three weeks via ship. Te tourism industry
boomed and by 1965 tourism figures reached four million per year.
Multinational hotel chains and tour operators began operating and today tourism is the ‘engine of their growth’ providing a steady stream of revenue whilst boosting infrastructure.
On the downside it is said two thirds of hotel rooms are however foreign owned and so profit is often earned by corporations outside of the Caribbean and it is reported that only 30 per cent of money spent by foreign visitors remains in the Caribbean.
However although tourism remains a significant growth sector generally the Caribbean saw a difficult year in 2015 on the back of global economic difficulties, whilst natural disasters caused some set backs, the Zika virus threatened tourism and falling commodity prices impacted exporters in various islands.
In 2016 the economy saw some growth and this year it is expected to see a 3.1 per cent growth of GDP with the Dominican Republic seeing the
biggest growth. Meanwhile the gambling industry plays a huge part in the economy of the Caribbean. Since the turn of the century the casino sector has evolved from small and clandestine outlets to large resorts and entertainment destinations.
Although the majority of casinos in the Caribbean have four or less tables and no more than 30 slots there are several large scale resorts being developed the biggest of which is the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Casino in the Bahamas with 75 tables and 750 slots.
Of all the islands only 15 of the 36 Caribbean nations still have lawful gaming with a reported 185 casinos in the Caribbean in total.
Te largest concentration of casinos can be found in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Last month we took a look at the Dominican Republic and to follow on we now take a closer look at the main Caribbean gambling zone of Puerto Rico plus next month we’ll be featuring Jamaica, the Bahamas and Curacao.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM P39
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