It's official: Caribbean tourism industry contends with climate change

Foto: Auttapon Moonsawad/123rf

In Antigua and Barbuda, tourism planners are exploring eco-friendly accommodations like ‘glamping’ – luxury campsites with low impact on beaches.

In Puerto Rico, hoteliers are swapping contingency plans to improve hurricane and disaster response.

Across the region, tourism stakeholders are grappling with the reality of climate change and the threat it poses to the region’s hospitality sector.

While the Caribbean has long been versed in storm and disaster recovery, many destinations are realising that they can no longer settle for ‘business as usual’.

Sea-level rise, diminishing reefs and other signs of climate change are already making their mark on the region.

For islanders, the goal has now become resilience – in other words, building tourism models that are both adaptive and quick to rebuild.

The Cayman Compass spoke with tourism officials from across the region during January’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Nassau, Bahamas. They shared some of the measures their islands have taken to adapt and respond to climate threats.

Source: Cayman Compass

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