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The number of Canadian visitors to the Caribbean fell by nine per cent to 1.67 million, while arrivals from Europe dropped by an estimated five per cent to 2.53 million during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period last year.

Database administrator at the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Paul Garnes, said that in the case of Canada, this was due to softer demand tied to weaker consumer confidence, higher travel costs and currency events.

Garnes told the 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference taking place here through Friday that while Europe remains an important market to Caribbean tourism, demand is under pressure due to economic headwinds and or stronger competition from other destinations.

He said intra-Caribbean travel registered 560,000 arrivals, representing 1.2 per cent growth, adding, ‘this continues to support regional resilience’.

South America was another ‘bright spot’ with arrivals jumping more than 25 per cent, moving from 790,000 to just under one million.

‘And then in other markets, including Asia, Africa, and others, we saw solid double-digit growth, up 12 per cent to nearly 3.8 million arrivals,’ Garnes said, adding that this shows that the Caribbean is diversifying beyond traditional source markets.

Garnes said a closer look at Canada showed Canadian outbound travel took a hit in the first half of 2025, especially as the United States tariffs, trade tensions and broader uncertainty pushed many Canadians towards domestic trips and alternative destinations.

For the Caribbean, about 1.7 million Canadian tourists visited between January and June, down just over nine per cent from last year.

‘And it pulled our recovery rate back from nearly 86 per cent of 2019 levels in 2024 to 78 per cent this year. ‘

From January to March, arrivals dropped sharply, down 12 per cent in January, 15 per cent in February, and 10 per cent in March.

‘These losses were even deeper when compared to 2019, with winter months still 27 per cent to 31 per cent below pre-pandemic levels,’ Garnes said, noting that the downward trend continued in April and May, though the contractions were smaller.

In the month of June, there was a rebound as arrivals grew nearlyseven per cent year-on-year, even as that month was 11 per cent less than 2019 volume.

‘So when we look at Canadian arrivals by destination, the results were very uneven,’ Garnes said, adding that of the 19 CTO reporting destinations, only eight recorded growth in the first half of the year.

‘Increases range from a small two per cent to a strong 36 per cent. Bermuda, Curacao and Aruba were the top-performing destinations for Canadians. Looking further back to 2019, only six destinations have fully recovered their pre-crisis volumes. For the rest, Canadian arrivals are still below 2019 levels.’

Garnes said the European economy showed moderate growth in the first half of 2025, supported by services and manufacturing.

‘Inflation eased, employment held steady, and discretionary spending improved, factors that helped sustain outbound travel,’ he said, noting that long-haul travel from Europe is rebounding, but destination performance still depends heavily on how each market is recovering and where travellers choose to go.

By the end of June, about 2.5 million Europeans had visited the Caribbean, down almost five per cent from last year and 17 per cent below pre-crisis levels.

‘Month by month, arrivals were weak,’ Garnes said, adding that the first quarter saw declines averaging around 7.5 per cent.

‘April was the lone bright spot, with a very slight uptick, but May and June slipped again. Overall, quarter two fell by a smaller margin, about two per cent. Compared to 2019, recovery rates vary widely, from just under 70 per cent in January to nearly 93 per cent in May.’

Garnes said most Caribbean destinations saw declines in arrivals from Europe.

‘Only seven of the 19 reporting destinations grew in the first half, led by Guyana, Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda. Growth ranged from just under two per cent to about 36 per cent,’ Garnes said.

‘So, looking at recovery since 2019, just six destinations have fully surpassed three pandemic levels, with gains from two to 79 per cent.’

Overall, tourist arrivals to the Caribbean grew by 1.9% during the first half of 2025, despite softening demand from North America.

Garnes said that overall, the region still recorded arrivals 6.1 per cent above 2019 – pre-pandemic – levels.

‘Considering tourist arrivals then, in the first half of the year 2025, the Caribbean tourism industry showed strong resilience, continuing to grow despite external challenges,’ Garnes said.

Guyana has launched a multi-year project that will allow for the high-tech aerial mapping of the country’s minerals so that prospectors can make informed decisions about where to search for commercially viable deposits ranging from gold to uranium and rare earth minerals.

‘This can be about gold but it can be about so much more. It is about an organised inventory of our mineral resources,’ said the Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Newell Dennison.

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said the mineral mapping exercise is in line with government’s thrust of sustainable development, viable and low-impact mining, and environmental preservation that are all features of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

‘This is a project that will enhance our reputation, as a country, that will enhance the mining sector, that will show greater environmental stewardship while we continue to develop our country and create opportunities for our people,’ he added.

Geologist and geophysicist at the United States-based Aqua Geo Frameworks, Jared Abraham, said the first set of mapping is expected to be completed by December, this year if Guyana continues to enjoy good weather.

He said that the team is putting together maps of how the different minerals and their properties are configured throughout Guyana and that two aircraft, stacked with advanced equipment, are collecting data at rate of 250 kilometres or 70 metres per second and 80 metres over the surface.

‘We’re not disturbing the delicate ecosystem. In one flight, we are collecting more data than you could do on the ground within a year or maybe two years without disturbing the eco-system,’ Abraham said, adding that the plan includes building Guyana’s first gravity map.

Dennison said the mapping exercise would gather data about the geological and geochemistry and structural relationships of Guyana ‘massive mineralised terrains,’ influence on the locations, accessibility and availability for exploitation.

The GGMC official said such information would assist decision-makers in investing in areas with a great likelihood of finding commercially viable mineral deposits.

‘We want not to have willy-nilly adventurism into the mining estate. We want persons to be much more predictive of where they’re going to put their resources and, therefore, from our perspective be more proficient in terms of finances and of course better outcomes for our national coffers,’ he said.

Dennison said the four million US dollar aerial remote sensing would be able to fill data gaps left by geoscientists and previous prospectors.

The project includes training, consultations with stakeholders and validation of locally-completed geological and geochemical surveys dating back to 15 years.

President and chief executive officer of Global Ventures, Emily King, said that the mapping exercise entails systematic flights in precisely spaced lines over large areas to measure subtle variations in the earth’s magnetic and radiometric fields.

She said those measurements help the scientists to see beneath the forest canopy and soils to understand the geology.

She said good data would shorten timelines, reduces unnecessary environmental disturbances and improve outcomes, helps government develop evidence-based policies and regulate efficiency, helps companies target their work more responsibly and ‘most importantly helps companies benefit from mines of all sizes that are well-planned from the start because they have the best data available’.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says that the lack of financial statements showing the historic performance of the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) is contributing to the delay in the government’s ability to reach an agreement with a new partner.

‘The main challenge we had was that the MNIB was so poorly run that there were no financial statements for many many years and as we attempt to get a private partner to partner with us we have to have those financial statements,’ he said during his interactive talk show ‘DMs with the PM’.

‘So, we have given instructions to try and accelerate this but when statutory bodies don’t do they financials and are not run properly and the government has to bail it out, that is the kind of challenge we face, where we cant even present an investor with a financial statement to tell the historic performance of the entity,’ Mitchell said.

In July 2022, Prime Minister Mitchell, who at the time also held minister of finance portfolio, said that the MNIB would be shut down and the law establishing the statutory body would be be repealed allowing for a new entity to be created under a public private partnership.

At the time the MNIB was facing financial challenges and in February 2023, the government paid severance and other termination benefits to all eighty-seven staff members to the tune of EC$2.67 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents).

The government then appointed a six-member broad-based technical working group to deal with the establishment of an appropriate public private partnership to support the sustainable growth of the agriculture sector.

In August 2023, the government announced the successful refinancing of the estimated five million dollars of debt owed by the MNIB to a local commercial bank.

The terms of the new arrangement included consolidating all outstanding principal balances of debt owed by MNIB at an interest rate of four per cent to be repaid over a period of 10 years, an interest free loan for all outstanding interest to date to be repaid over 10 years and the release of all existing securities to be replaced with a charge on the Consolidated Fund.

In March this year, Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall said that the life span of the entity known as the Marketing and National Importing Board would end before the third quarter of this year, because the government had established a new entity to replace the statutory body which was established more than 45 years ago.

Delivering the 2025 national budget to Parliament on March7, Cornwall said that the government had taken ‘decisive’ steps to address the longstanding financial management and inefficiencies plaguing the MNIB.

Cornwall said to this end, a new company – Import-Export Agromart (IMEXA) Ltd – had been established and legal and financial experts were developing prospectus and legal agreements to engage a suitable strategic partner and have the new entity up and running before the end of third quarter 2025

The following is the CANANews and SPORTS Schedule for Thursday, October 2, 2025.

BRIDGETOWN – The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization( CTO) says tourist arrivals to the Caribbean region grew by nearly two per cent during the first half of 2025, despite softening demand from North America

WASHINGTON – Haiti has signed a three-year country cooperation strategy (CSS) with the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) with the two United nations organisations reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening Haiti’s health system and improving health outcomes for all.

KINGSTOWN -The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) is promising to double public assistance, reduce the 16 per cent value added tax (VAT) on ‘everyday goods’ and residential electricity while also paying a bonus salary to public servants.

BELMOPAN – Opposition Leader, Tracy Taegar-Panton, is questioning the sincerity behind the government’s decision to have an independent investigation into the alleged kidnapping of a Belizean and his surrender to Guatemalan authorities in August.

GEORGETOWN – The opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has reaffirmed its ‘complete confidence’ in its leader, Aubrey Norton, despite the party’s devastating performance in the September 1 general and regional elections.

SPORTS:

AHMEDABAD – West Indies were dismissed for 162 on the opening day of the first test against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization( CTO) says tourist arrivals to the Caribbean region grew by nearly two per cent during the first half of 2025, despite softening demand from North America.

Speaking during the 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) taking place here through Friday, the CTO’s database administrator, Paul Garnes, said that overall, the region still recorded arrivals 6.1 per cent above 2019, pre-pandemic levels.

‘Considering tourist arrivals then, in the first half of the year 2025, the Caribbean tourism industry showed strong resilience, continuing to grow despite external challenges,’ Garnes said.

He said stay over arrivals remained above 2024 and pre-pandemic, 2019 levels, signalling sustained recovery, noting that while growth has moderated compared to the sharp rebound of recent years, the sector continues to move positively forward.

Preliminary estimates show 18.5 million arrivals in the first six months of 2025, up from 18.2 million in 2024 and 17.5 million in 2019, reflecting a 1.9 per cent year-on-year increase and a 6.1 per cent increase over 2019 levels.

Performance differed across Caribbean destinations, but the majority of the 24 reporting destinations achieved positive growth.

‘Fifteen destinations reported higher arrivals compared to the same period in 2024,’ Garnes said, adding that the top performers were Guyana. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica.

Declines range from one per cent to 10.7 per cent, driven mainly by external shocks, recovery from environmental events and natural limits on further rapid expansion.

At the half-year mark, most Caribbean destinations recorded arrivals above pre-pandemic levels, underscoring resilience and continued growth, Garnes said, adding that among the 17 destinations with growth, expansion ranged from 1.3 per cent to 68.2 per cent, compared to 2019.

‘By contrast, a smaller group of destinations still lag behind pre-pandemic volumes, showing an uneven pace of recovery,’ he said.

The monthly data, however, show that some of the uncertainty and volatility at the start of the year has begun to settle.

During the first quarter of the year, arrivals dipped 0.6 per cent compared to 2024, linked to softer demand, reduced airlift and seasonal timing. Despite the dip, volumes during the first quarter were still 3.6 times higher than in 2019, showing that the long-term recovery trend remains intact.

However, second quarter tells a much stronger story with monthly arrivals to the region ranging between 2.8 and 3.1 million tourists.

Compared to 2024, April was up 8.4 per cent; May, 2.2 per cent and June, 3.7 per cent, with overall growth in Q2 rising to 4.8 per cent, representing some 8.9 million visitors to the region.

‘This growth has more than offset the small dip in quarter one, showing clear momentum as the year progressed.’

Garnes said several factors boosted this rebound, including the fact that Easter was in April this year, the international cricket series with Ireland and England, the delayed Liberation Day tariff changes, expanded marketing, better air connectivity and new hotel capacity.

‘When compared to pre-pandemic levels, quarter two was particularly strong, up nearly 9 per cent over 2019, a clear sign that the region is on a growth trajectory.’

Garnes said the overall performance showed a softening in major northern markets driven by economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behaviour.

This was partially onset by stronger demand from South America.

However, the United States continues to be the region’s main market, comprising about half of all visitors to the region, followed by Europeans with 14 per cent and Canadians -just under 10 per cent.

At the same time, just over nine million people visited the Caribbean from the United States, which was generally flat compared to 2024.

However, the United States remains the Caribbean’s anchor market, making up nearly half of all the visitors, though growth momentum has slowed.

Meanwhile, Aliyyah Shakeer, the CTO’s director of research, said data from the first quarter of 2025 show that room rates in the region continue to rise even as occupancy slipped.

Shakeer said the average daily rate rose just over three per cent, reaching US$424 but occupancy slipped by 1.4 per cent to 73 per cent.

‘But even with that, the overall room revenues still grew by almost three per cent, held by a steady supply, which was up just less than one per cent,’ she said, adding that it appears that 19 properties are under construction across the region.

In terms of the short-term rentals, data from Airbnb collected by CTO for 24 destinations in the region showed the sector stayed relatively strong in 2024.

‘By the end of 2024, there were about 79,500 active listings across the region, and this was up just 10 per cent compared to 2023,’ Shakeer said.

‘However, as we fast forward into the first quarter of 2025, we saw a small dip or small pullback in listings – about 78,000; but compared to the same time in 2024, it is still a healthy increase of more than five per cent.’

Shakeer said the activity numbers tell a much stronger story, with check-ins rising by 7 per cent and room nights jumping by 12 per cent

‘So altogether, this means that there were 1 million check-ins and 5 million room-nights per the short-term rental economy in just the first three months of the year. What’s more is that the average length of stay is moving upwards, moving from 4.4 days to 4.6 days,’ Shakeer said.

Director of Cricket at Cricket West Indies (CWI), Miles Bascombe has maintained that there were some bright sparks in the regional side’s loss to minnows Nepal in their recently concluded T20I series.

Despite sending a young team missing several senior players and boasting six possible debutants, the sixth-ranked West Indies were still expected to comfortably defeat 18th-ranked Nepal in their three-match T20I Unity Cup series last month in the United Arab Emirates.

However, the West Indies lost the first two matches on their way to suffering an embarrassing 2-1 defeat that sent shockwaves across the cricketing community.

It also gave Nepal their first-ever win over a Full Member in any format.

Ackeem Auguste scored an unbeaten 41 in the third T20I against Nepal which West Indies won by 10 wickets

Speaking during CWI’s quarterly press conference on Wednesday, Bascombe said the T20I series against Nepal was always going to be a challenging one due to the construction of the team and the available timeline.

‘The Nepal series had always been earmarked as an opportunity for exposure for emerging talent.

‘We always knew that turnaround time would have been a challenge. They pretty much had one day to acclimatise and one practice session going into that series and in a very short tournament of three matches, if you’re not off the ground running from match one you can very much find yourself behind the eight ball as we did,’ Bascombe said.

‘But as I mentioned, the opportunity for exposure has been key. We need more information in terms of filling those positions and shoring up some of those positions that we have in our international T20 team, and while we saw some struggle in those first couple of games, we definitely saw what we all knew in terms of what we saw in the CPL and what we saw in the Breakout League, that we definitely have quality in that group and we have capable players.

‘So, I think that that series, albeit a very disappointing loss, we were still able to identify some options. We have seen some players that have come all the way from the Breakout League all the way through to international T20 cricket and have shown that they may have what it takes to make the step up to the international level.

‘So, while I wouldn’t want to disarm anyone of that emotional response to a West Indies loss to a minnow, we still need to be able to expose our players and give them that opportunity to shine in challenging conditions. I’m quite confident that we have seen some good signs.’ Bascombe further added.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has released a new initiative aimed at helping the countries develop a new approach to strengthening their technical, operational, political and prospective (TOPP) institutional capacities.

ECLAC has described the new plan as an analytical and operational paradigm for managing the essential transformations needed in the region to advance towards more productive, inclusive and sustainable development.

The publication sets forth a roadmap and related instruments to help institutions enhance their ability to design, implement, sustain over time, and flexibly adapt public policies in changing environments.

The document, ‘Technical operational, political and prospective (TOPP) institutional capabilities for managing transformation’ Underpinnings of new paradigm’ was presented by ECLAC’ Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, at the 20th Meeting of the Regional Council for Planning of the Latin America and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPS) which ends here on Friday.

ECLAC said building on its diagnosis regarding development traps and gaps, and the indispensable transformations needed in development models, the document argues that the discussion on what to do must be complemented by reflection on how to do it, and that institutional TOPP capabilities are key to answering this question.

The Commission has identified three development traps in which most countries of the region are caught: one of low capacity for growth and transformation; another of high inequality, low social mobility and weak social cohesion; and a third of low institutional capacities and ineffective governance.

The latter limits the effectiveness and continuity of public policies and reduces the possibility of adapting them in contexts of change and uncertainty. How to escape from this trap is the main objective and focus of the new document and the TOPP approach.

The current global context – marked by geopolitical tensions, greater uncertainty, and rapid technological changes in markets, supply chains and climate conditions – poses both challenges and opportunities for development.

These require public institutions to adopt a new approach, focused not only on designing more effective policies, but also on managing transformations and having the capacity to swiftly adapt policies in a world in transition.

‘The critical question is how to manage complex processes of change in fragile institutional contexts, with pronounced political fragmentation and urgent social demands,’ Salazar-Xirinachs states in the prologue of the document

‘This is precisely the aim of the transformation management approach: a proposal that adds to traditional discussions – focused on what must be done – a perspective on change processes, the capacities and conditions that make change possible – focused on how to do it – and with an anticipatory governance approach,’ he added.

The TOPP institutional capacity approach, developed and promoted by ECLAC, offers an integrated framework for understanding and strengthening the essential functions that make transformative action viable. Without a technical basis, policies lack a solid foundation. Without operational capacities, their implementation is weakened. Without political legitimacy, they lack viability and continuity. And without a prospective vision, they lose direction and relevance in the face of changing scenarios.

Police say they have seized more than TT$300 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) in illegal drugs during a two day exercise in the south western section of the island.

The lawmen said that on Wednesday, acting on intelligence, they dealt a blow to a prominent drug trafficking network operating in the South Western Division, seizing over TT$292 million worth of illegal drugs during an operation in Palo Seco, a town and district in the Siparia region of southwestern Trinidad,

They said the seizure, included large quantities of high-grade Colombian ‘creepy’ marijuana and cocaine, and that acting on intelligence gathered following the arrest of a key associate of the drug trafficking network on Tuesday, police maintained surveillance in a remote area , known for its dense forest and limited access.

The police say that they suspect that the network was planning to relocate the remaining drugs from a hidden stash in the area to avoid detection and that the search led to the discovery of 1,177.4 kilogrammes of Colombian ‘creepy’ marijuana packed in 41 crocus bags, estimated street value of TT$129,216,117, and 117.14 kilogrammes of cocaine packed in five crocus bags, with estimated street value of TT$163,283,788.

The combined value of narcotics seized on the two days has been put at TT$314,666,605.

West Indies reached 90 for five at lunch on the opening day of the first Test here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.

WEST INDIES 90-5 in 23.2 overs (Shai Hope 26, Roston Chase 22 not out, Brandon King 13, Alick Athanaze 12; Mohammed Siraj 3-19).

The country’s Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) has warned that careless online habits are putting scores of Jamaicans and businesses at serious risk, as cybercrime mushrooms into a trillion-dollar global industry.

Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday, the start of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Godphey Sterling, director of the CIRT said while technology has rapidly advanced, the attitudes of many Jamaicans towards online security remain ‘dangerously casual’.

He cautioned that everyday mistakes such as weak passwords, oversharing on social media, and insecure data storage are giving cybercriminals easy access to sensitive information.’So for the general public, the idea is to stop being a cyber-delinquent, appreciate that you live in a digital environment, you’re a digital citizen, whether you’re a native or a tenant, and to ensure that those devices that you use are no longer the Nokia 3310s,’ said Sterling.

‘You carry your lives in your pockets. So if you have to use it, then lock it and take it with you and, for businesses, understand that data is your new currency, and you must securely collect, store, and transmit that data, but you must also get rid of it in a demonstrable and secure manner when you no longer use it’added Sterling.

He pointed out that many of the most serious breaches investigated by the CIRT were not the result of sophisticated attacks, but rather basic mistakes.

‘When we look at some of the most egregious breaches that we have responded to, it comes down to misconfiguration of permanent security systems. What does that say to us? It’s either that the systems were not set up properly, either through the use of persons not qualified to do it or just cutting corners. But in the end, your data was at risk and when we look at our personal systems, it’s how we approach the digitally enabled world we live in,’ he explained.

Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Sterling noted that Jamaica sees just over three million daily Internet connections, with more than 70 per cent accessed via mobile devices. He added that more than half of these connections originate from single IP addresses, indicating that many individuals are using multiple devices to go online.

He argued that these habits demonstrate how deeply Jamaicans are connected to the digital world, underscoring the need to be more cautious in how they navigate it.

The CIRT director also highlighted the growing impact of smart devices, noting that the Internet of Things (IoT) is ‘always listening to you’, collecting and transmitting data to build user profiles.

‘The smart doorbell, the smart door lock, the smart speaker, the smart fridge, the smart washer. For these things to be smart, they’re always listening to you. So even though you’re not giving it instructions, it is listening, it is digesting, it is transmitting so that it can build a profile and find an algorithm to better serve you, but where does that data go?’

October is being recognised globally as Cyber Security Month.

JaCIRT will be undertaking a series of awareness and training activities to boost cyber protections locally.