Caribbean tourism to climb in 2015

Morritts Grand Resort, the Cayman Islands Photo: Slack12

The property and tourism sectors in the Caribbean and Central America set to grow in 2015, according to the latest edition of The Caribbean Property Investor magazine.

Arrivals to Caribbean destinations soared in 2014, with Turks & Caicos Islands leading the way with a rise of 25.3 per cent year-on-year. Grenada, Haiti Montserrat and the Cayman Islands followed close behind, with visitor arrivals climbing 17.6 per cent, 14.9 per cent, 13.5 per cent and 12.6 per cent respectively.

The magazine attributes the sector's strength to the region's high quality of living, good value for money and stability, particularly in the face of social, economic and political volatility in other regions.

Walter Zephirin, Managing Director of London-based 7th Heaven Properties (which publishes The Caribbean Property Investor), comments: "Many investment locations such as the Turks & Caicos, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands experienced strong growth last year and we expect 2015 to be the year that the Caribbean real estate market as a whole turns a corner. A growth in enquiries from prospective buyers indicates a renewed confidence in the region and sales levels on many islands are returning to pre-crisis levels."

Zephirin adds: "Locations across the Caribbean and Central America are benefiting from an upturn in the USA, Canada and the UK, resulting in an increase in visitor arrivals, tourist spend and property sales. A growing pipeline of new projects, significant infrastructure investments and a thawing in relations between the USA and Cuba are also expected to provide an additional boost to the region."