The Caribbean’s Best Quality Destinations Revealed in New Report by Resonance Consultancy at CTO Caribbean Week, New York
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 02, 2016 -- A new study conducted by international travel and tourism experts Resonance Consultancy reveals that the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico produce the most quality experiences in the Caribbean overall. Saint Martin, Anguilla, and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines are shown to have the most quality experiences per 100,000 visitors.
The Resonance 2016 Caribbean Tourism Quality Index – released at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s “Caribbean Week” in New York – measures tourism’s supply-side performance and competitiveness in 28 destinations across the Caribbean based on both absolute and indexed scales: the Absolute Ranking measures the total number of quality experiences; the Indexed Ranking evaluates performance in terms of how many quality experiences are delivered per visitor (i.e. the number of quality experiences per 100,000 visitors).
The types of experiences people enjoy most in the Caribbean are culinary, sightseeing and sports and adventure activities, with entertainment and culture coming in a distant fourth and fifth.
“Culinary experiences are important tourism drivers,” says Chris Fair, president of Resonance Consultancy. “But with Cuba’s strong performance in the cultural rankings – and now its tourism growth – we expect cultural tourism in the Caribbean to become increasingly important in the years to come.”
In the Absolute Ranking – greatest number of quality experiences – the Dominican Republic holds top place for entertainment, lodging and connectivity, and also reports the greatest number of visitors. Destinations that attract the most visitors traditionally sit atop Resonance’s Absolute Ranking.
Puerto Rico and Cuba rank second and third: the report poses the question whether tourism can save Puerto Rico, the debt-crippled and Zika-troubled country. It also speculates on the changes Cuba will see and bring to tourism in the Caribbean. The influx of American travelers to Cuba – a 10 - 20 percent increase following Obama’s historic visit – could spur as many as 110 new commercial flights from the U.S. to Cuba per day starting late 2016, the report says.
ABSOLUTE RANKING
1. Dominican Republic
2. Puerto Rico
3. Cuba
4. Bahamas
5. Jamaica
6. Barbados
7. Aruba
8. U.S. Virgin Islands
9. Guadeloupe
10. Cayman Islands
When it comes to which destinations deliver the most quality experiences per visitor, Saint Martin tops the Indexed Ranking in six areas – museums, shopping, nightlife, amusements, outdoors and restaurants. Its top attraction, Orient Bay Beach, is ranked among the best sightseeing and outdoor activities experiences in the report.
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines is second in the Indexed Ranking; not co-incidentally, the southern Caribbean island saw a 5.4% increase in total stopover arrivals in 2015 as well as a 9.2% increase in arrivals from the U.S., according to the CTO.
INDEXED RANKING
1. Saint Martin
T-2 Saint Vincent & The Grenadines
T-2 Anguilla
4. Bermuda
5. Barbados
6. Puerto Rico
7. Guadeloupe
8. Grenada
9. Trinidad & Tobago
10. Martinique
The Resonance 2016 Caribbean Tourism Quality Index gives Caribbean tourism leaders a new lens through which to view destination strengths and weaknesses, and to plan for growth in years to come.
To learn more about the highest quality destinations and experiences in the Caribbean for 2016, please contact Resonance Consultancy President Chris Fair at cfair(at)resonanceco.com.
The full 2016 Caribbean Tourism Quality Index can be accessed for free at the URL below:
http://www.resonancereport.com/collections/frontpage/products/2016-caribbean-tourism-quality-index
Chris Fair, Resonance Consultancy Ltd, http://www.resonanceco.com, +1 (646) 413-8887, [email protected]
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