Caribbean tourism improving.

CARIBBEAN TOURISM IMPROVING. The Caribbean tourism sector's performance is expected to improve in 2004, continuing an upward trend that began in 2003, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) said Feb. 2:

CTO, the regional organization for tourism research and the leading authority on Caribbean tourism statistics, estimated that tourist arrivals to the Caribbean increased by about 6% in 2003, capping a period of gradual recovery which began in the latter part of 2003. "This trend is likely to continue in 2004 producing growth perhaps in the 4% to 5% range," said Arley Sobers, CTO's director of research and information management. He added that a weak U.S. dollar; safety and security issues; the improving performance of the U.S., Canadian and European economies and the English cricket tour of the Caribbean are some of the factors that will impact on the region's performance this year;

Improvements in arrivals to the Caribbean in 2003 came from all the major markets, with arrivals from the U.S. up 4%, Canada increasing 15% and Europe growing by 9%. "Performances among our destinations varied, although most destinations recorded reasonable levels of growth in their tourist arrivals in 2003," Mr. Sobers said. He added that cruise passenger visitations were up by 10% in 2003, in line with the increased capacity allocated to the Caribbean. Details: Johnson Johnrose. Email: [e-mail]. Kristen Schneider, Tel:[phone]. Email: [e-mail]