Horwath HTL Dominican Republic and Crowe Costa Rica have released the latest market report for the Caribbean and Central America.

• The Caribbean and Central America combined make up around 92 million inhabitants and a GDP of approximately US$1.08 trillion.
• With a contribution of an estimated 15% and 12%, both regions have the highest share of the tourism sector to total GDP.

In 2022, the Caribbean was the third most successful of all Worldwide regions or subregions to match 2019 visitor arrivals and even topped this during the first half of 2023, while Central America has experienced one of the fastest sector growths among American regions in the last 20 years.

This report provides the reader with facts about the geographical regions and market updates on the tourism destinations of the Caribbean and Central America, in addition to historical and current sector performances, and trends.

Combined, both regions make up around 92 million inhabitants and a GDP of approximately US$1.08 trillion. The Caribbean comprises 31 inhabited, independent countries, overseas departments, and dependencies. In addition, there are over 600 mostly inhabited islands that depend on the principal island destinations.

Since decades, it is one of the most stable tourism regions in the world, destinations vary in population, size, and touristic offerings. The area facilitates diverse vacationing and leisure products, with sun and beach resorts being among the internationally best-known.

Predominant official languages in the destinations are Spanish, English, French, and Dutch. Haitian Creole and Papiamento have also official status on selected islands. All territories were at some point European colonies. During crises, the tourism-dependent region has regularly bounced back stronger than ever before throughout the last couple of years and converted the sector into  overall economic growth.

Although geographically, the Central American isthmus comprises the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Belize, and Panama, politically only the five first mentioned, which formed the Central American Federation from 1823-1841, consider themselves “the real” Central America, while Panama as former part of Columbia, is often perceived South American and the English-speaking Belize as Caribbean West Indies.

All 7 countries except of Belize are Spanish speaking and comprise a combined population of around 45 million. The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) includes the original 5 Central American countries and Dominican Republic, granting access to the US market through a bilateral agreement. El Salvador recently drew international attention as the first country adopting bitcoin as a legal tender. Central American countries vary of tourism industry weight, size, character, and economy.

The region is home to an abundance of natural and protected areas and pioneering eco- and sustainable tourism projects.

Read the full report here